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American Morning
Kobe Bryant Case; 'House Call'; Colin Powell Testifies on Sudan Crisis
Aired September 09, 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The Nasdaq Marketsite, 1850, off 8 points in trading from yesterday. And I believe in the middle there. See that gentleman right there in the gray jacket with the black turtleneck? Sweet Lou Peniella, former Yankee, former manager for the Cincinnati Reds, won a world championship in 1990, wire to wire in fact, that year beat the As four games and nil. Sweet Lou doing the honors there at the Nasdaq.
How are you?
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing great.
HEMMER: Yes? The rain stopped.
COLLINS: I know. It's coming though again, I think.
HEMMER: Frances.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Back here in a moment here, what kind of witness would the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of sexual assault have made had that case gone to criminal court? One of the prosecutors involved has an answer. She's talking now for the first time after that gag order was lifted. We'll see what she has to say in a few moments here.
COLLINS: Also, will the new cars of 2005 have the "wow" effect? I think that one gets a "wow" effect. We'll get a first look at the brand-new models when we talk to the automobile editor for "Consumer Reports."
For now, though, we want to check on what's happening now in the news with Daryn Kagan. She's at the CNN center for more on that.
Hi -- Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.
Hearings are getting under way at this hour at the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. The topic? Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Some lawmakers are looking at the Defense Department's two latest reports on claims of abuse at the prison.
Just days before the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge is launching National Preparedness Month. The agency hopes to get Americans to focus even more on security and planning for possible attacks in the U.S. The announcement is expected in about an hour and a half.
To the campaign trail now. President Bush is in Pennsylvania at this hour. He'll be rallying with supporters later this morning. Democratic rival John Kerry is now at a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. He heads to New Orleans this afternoon.
And Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to tell Congress this morning that genocide may be taking place in Sudan. Powell assessed the situation in Darfur during a visit last month. He's scheduled to go before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee any moment.
Heidi -- back to you.
COLLINS: All right. Daryn, you're coming up at 10:00 here. I want to know what's going on in your show.
KAGAN: We have a lot from all ends of the spectrum. On the serious side, I'll be talking to Rory Kennedy. She's made a new documentary on the nuclear power plant that is very close to New York City. And on the complete opposite end of things, we're doing Fashion Week, talking to the designers -- Heidi.
HEMMER: All right.
COLLINS: All right. Yes, both sides of the spectrum there, that's for sure. All right, Daryn, thanks so much. We look forward to it -- Bill.
HEMMER: Heidi, had the Kobe Bryant case gone to criminal trial, one of the lead prosecutors believe they could have proved Bryant was guilty of sexual assault. Deputy D.A. Dana Easter is telling "People" magazine the criminal case was solid before the accuser decided not to testify.
Elizabeth Glick is the assistant managing editor of "People." She gave us details on what the deputy D.A. has told the magazine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dana Easter says the accuser became physically ill. What aspect of the case brought on that condition?
ELIZABETH GLICKMAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: She said that basically the accuser was hounded. She would walk down the street, and people would whisper things and yell things. She had to move to five different states. She quit going to school. And it was months and months of leaks that were unfavorable to the prosecution's case.
HEMMER: With what she shared with you, how strong did she believe the evidence was against Bryant?
GLICKMAN: It was very striking. I mean, obviously she has her own spin. But she felt not only that the evidence against Bryant was very, very strong, but that the accuser herself would have made a very strong witness had they come face to face.
HEMMER: Did she express any weak points in the case? Any concerns where she thought, you know, if I'm in front of that jury, I may have a problem with this or that?
GLICKMAN: No, she didn't go there. She had a response for sort of everything that we've been hearing in the last few months. Did the accuser have consensual sex with somebody after her encounter with Bryant? She had responses for every piece of this.
HEMMER: Did she happen to pin it on the judge? Because some legal analysts have said the judge was not tough enough on Pamela Mackey, who was the attorney for Bryant?
GLICKMAN: Right. She didn't go there with us. She was really describing to us the ordeal that the accuser went through, and just how incredibly tough it's been for the last year or so.
HEMMER: Yes, we mentioned the leaks, though. But in the preliminary hearing, I believe it was on day one, when Pamela Mackey mentioned the accuser's name six times, reprimanded each time by the judge.
GLICKMAN: Right.
HEMMER: Did she indicate whether or not that was the beginning of the downfall for the accuser?
GLICKMAN: She just said to us sort of over and over again, it was a total accumulation of things. It was the inability for the accuser to lead any sort of normal life. It was the leaks. It was the suggestion that she was mentally unstable in some way. It was just months of mounting difficulties.
HEMMER: Did she express an opinion about the D.A.?
GLICKMAN: No.
HEMMER: And how it was handled in Eagle County?
GLICKMAN: No, she did not.
HEMMER: Did she say anything about the civil case now, and whether or not she believes they have a chance for success?
GLICKMAN: The civil case is all -- we spoke with Lin Wood (ph), also one of the attorneys handling the civil case. Nobody's talking about what's going to happen, because they're in the middle of hammering out a settlement right this minute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Elizabeth Glick, assistant managing editor for "People" magazine with the prosecution's side of the story. We tried, unable, though, to get any call-backs from Kobe Bryant's lawyers to give their view on what's printed in "People" magazine. (WEATHER BREAK)
COLLINS: When it comes to heart disease, a new study suggests it's OK to be overweight as long as you're physically active.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN center now with more details on this.
It's kind of interesting -- Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Heidi.
A lot of people talk about whether it's better to be fit or better to be trim. It's sort of interesting. Obviously, a lot of attention is being focused on body weight and obesity and just being overweight in general.
But maybe perhaps getting lost in all of that is the amount of physical activity also needed to keep you healthy.
An interesting study coming out of the University of Florida actually following over 900 women. These women were typically middle- aged women, 75 percent of them were overweight. About half of them almost were obese. Fifty-five percent had high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and 39 percent had clogged arteries.
The questions they asked them were this: Could they walk up a flight of stairs without becoming short of breath? Could they walk several steps just walking on flat ground without experiencing any difficulties? The questions were trying to determine the women's activity status.
What they found sort of interesting really going to the heart of this fit versus trim thing was that the overweight-but-fit women had less cardiovascular disease than women who were lean and unfit. Again, overweight-but-fit women had a better cardiovascular profile than the women who were lean and unfit.
It says a lot of different messages here, Heidi. Obviously, it's important to move. It's important to not be sedentary. About 30 minutes a day, five times a week may reduce your cardiovascular risk, your risk of heart attack by about 50 percent.
And also just because you're trim and lean doesn't mean you're necessarily healthy -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, clear that up for us, if you can. Does it really actually mean that it's not so important to be trim?
GUPTA: No. You know, I think most doctors would say, hey, listen, the best thing is to be both fit and trim.
With regards to things like diabetes, overall weight, obviously getting trim is going to be very important. But if you're looking at your cardiovascular health long term, it may be better to get out there and move.
Also, I think it sends a message, you know, throw away the scales. A lot of trainers will tell women who are starting to work out for the first time, don't bother weighing yourself every day. That's not your parameter of success. Rather, just get moving. That's going to improve your blood flow and reduce your chances of having a hart attack in the long run -- Heidi.
COLLINS: So, does every woman need to be heading to the gym, like, right now?
GUPTA: No. You know, and that's another point that the authors really made in this study is that, you know, you don't necessarily need to get to a gym. Just being active around the home, for example, instead of being sedentary, be active around home. Be active when you go out. Take stairs instead of taking the elevator, for example. Housework, gardening work, all of that sort of stuff. Just get up moving, and that can really do you a lot of good in the long run, again, in terms of having a heart attack in the long run -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, yes, I guess so. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much for that.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi. We want to get to Colin Powell right now. The secretary of state is testifying on Capitol Hill now. Let's listen here now.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: ... hundreds of thousands of people had been forced from their homes, from their villages to camps, where there is an absolute need for the international community to come together and speak with one voice as to how we deal with this situation.
Mr. Chairman, I do have a prepared statement that I'd like to offer for the record, and then I will draw from that in my opening marks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be published in full. And please proceed as you wish.
POWELL: Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, let me thank you for this opportunity to testify on the situation in Darfur.
And let me begin by reviewing a little history. The violence in Darfur has complex roots and traditional conflicts between Arab nomadic herders and African farmers. The violence intensified during 2003 when two groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, declared open rebellion against the government of Sudan, because they feared being on the outside of the power and wealth-sharing agreements that were being arranged in the north-south negotiations; the Naivasha discussions, as we call them.
Khartoum reacted aggressively, intensifying support for Arab militias to take on these rebels and support for what are known as the Janjaweed. The government of Sudan supported the Janjaweed directly and indirectly as they carried out a scorched earth policy toward the rebels and the African civilian population in Darfur.
Mr. Chairman, the United States exerted strong leadership to focus international attention on this unfolding tragedy. We first took the issue of Sudan to the United Nations Security Council last fall. President Bush was the first head of state to condemn publicly the government of Sudan, and to urge the international community to intensify efforts to end the violence.
In April of this year, the United States brokered a cease-fire between the government of Sudan and the rebels, and then took the lead to get the African Union to monitor that cease-fire.
As some of you are aware, I traveled to the Sudan in mid-summer and made a point of visiting Darfur. It was about the same time that Congressman Wolf and Senator Brownback were there, as well as Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In fact, the secretary-general and I were able to meet in Khartoum to exchange our notes and to make sure that gave a consistent message to the Sudanese government of what was expected of them.
Senator Brownback can back me up when I say that all of us saw the suffering that the people of Darfur are having to endure. And Senator Corzine was just in Darfur recently and can vouch for the fact that atrocities are still occurring.
All of us met with people who had been driven from their homes by the terrible violence that is occurring in Darfur. Indeed, many of them having seen their homes and all of their worldly possessions destroyed or confiscated before their eyes.
During my visit, humanitarian workers from my own agency, USAID, and from other non-governmental organizations, told me how they are struggling to bring food, shelter and medicines to those so desperately in need; a population, as you noted, Mr. Chairman, of well over a million.
In my mid-summer meetings with officials of the government of Sudan, we presented them with the stark facts of what we knew about what is happening in Darfur from the destruction of villages to the raping and the killing, to the obstacles that impeded relief efforts.
Secretary-General Annan and I obtained from the government of Sudan what they said would be firm commitments to take steps and to take steps immediately that would remove these obstacles, help bring the violence to an end, and do it in a way that we could monitor their performance.
There have been some positive developments since my visit, since visit of Senator Brownback, Congressman Wolf and the secretary- general. The Sudanese have met some of our benchmarks, such as improving humanitarian access, engaging in political talks with the rebels and supporting the deployment of observers and troops from the African Union to monitor the cease-fire between Khartoum and the rebels.
The AU Cease-Fire Commission has also been set up and is working to monitor more effectively what is happening in Darfur. The general who is in charge of that mission, a Nigerian general by the name of General Okonkwo, is somebody that we know well. He is the same Nigerian general who went into Liberia last year and helped stabilize the situation there, a very good officer, a good commander who knows his business.
The AU's mission will help to restore sufficient security so that these dislocated, starving, hounded people can at least avail themselves of the humanitarian assistance that is available. But what is really needed is enough security so that they can go home, not be safe in camps. We need security throughout the countryside. These people need to go home. We are not interested in creating a permanent displaced population that survives in camps on the dole of the international community.
And what is really needed to accomplish that is for the Janjaweed militias to cease and desist their murderous raids against these people and for the government in Khartoum to stop being complicit in such raids.
Khartoum has made no meaningful progress in substantially improving the overall security environment by disarming the Janjaweed militias or arresting its leaders.
So we are continuing to press the government of Sudan, and we continue to monitor them. We continue to make sure that we are not just left with promises instead of actual action and performance on the ground.
Because it is absolutely clear that as we approach the end of the rainy season, the situation on the ground must change and it must change quickly. There are too many tens upon tens of thousands of human beings who are at risk. Some of them have already been consigned to death in the future because of the circumstances they are living in now. They will not make it through the end of the year. Poor security, inadequate capacity and heavy rains which will not diminish until later this month continue to hamper the relief effort.
The United Nations estimates that there are 1,227,000 internally- displaced persons in Darfur. In July, almost 950,000 IDPs received food assistance. About 200,000 Sudanese refugees are being assisted by the UNHCR and partner organizations across the border in Chad. The World Food Program expects two million IDPs will need food aid by October.
The United States government provision of aid to the Darfur crisis in the Sudan and Chad total $211 million as of September 2, 2004. This includes $112 million in food assistance, $50 million in non-food assistance, $36 million for refugees in Chad, $5 million for refugee programs in Darfur, and $6.8 million for the African Union mission.
The U.S. also strongly supports the work of the AU monitoring mission in Darfur. In fact, we initiated the mission through base camp setup and logistic support by a private contractor that we are paying for. The AU mission is currently staffed with 125 AU monitors now deployed in the field. And those monitors have already completed 20 investigations of cease-fire violations, and their reports are now being written up and being provided to the AU and to the U.N. and to the international community.
HEMMER: Secretary of State Colin Powell talking about the latest in the Darfur region of Sudan, having visited there a few months back in mid-summer, as he described there. And also telling members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he has concluded that genocide has been committed. In very strong words, too, very eerie words, too, from the secretary of state, saying tens of thousands of human beings are still at risk, and perhaps many of them may not make it to the end of this year.
We'll follow it. Secretary of State Colin Powell, the strongest words to date that we have monitored from the State Department regarding the situation in Sudan.
A break here. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. A check on Wall Street right now. And Starbucks is making waves in music.
Gerri Willis working for Andy today, "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning.
Let's start with those markets. They're looking higher today, and I'll tell you why. Nokia has some good news here. They're saying that they're selling more cell phones, which is good news. It represents a turn-around for them.
We had some bad news from Texas Instruments, but it looks like -- look at this, the Dow Industrial is up 12 points. They're going to be paying attention to the Nokia news today.
HEMMER: Yes, give me a CD with that ground latte, will you?
WILLIS: Yes, absolutely. This is amazing. Starbucks is selling ton of CDs, specifically the new Ray Charles CD, which is called "Genius Loves Company," 12 duets. I don't know if you've heard this, but it's really, really great. Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Elton John, you name it, they're on it. You're seeing a picture of it right here.
It's the No. 2 selling album in the country right now. Starbucks sold 44,000 of these things.
HEMMER: Really?
WILLIS: So, you know, the record industry is so worried about Napster and KaZaA. Forget about it. It's really Starbucks they've got to worry about.
HEMMER: That and Biscotti (ph). Thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Good to have you here.
COLLINS: So, what kinds of cars will be hitting the road in 2005? Well, "Consumer Reports" has just released its annual preview of next year's models. That list is in the October issue on newsstands right now.
I spoke with Rik Paul. He's the auto editor for "Consumer Reports." Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: One thing that you're pretty excited about are these hybrid cars. There are some now models coming out. Let's go through some of them. The first one, Ford Escape. What's great about that
RIK PAUL, AUTO EDITOR, "CONSUMER REPORTS": The Ford Escape is the first hybrid SUV. And so that will provide a little more cargo room, a lot more versatility than the current hybrids do. And then after that, we'll see the Honda Accord hybrid, which is a mid-sized sedan. It's the first mid-sized sedan hybrid. And that should be very good, too.
COLLINS: That one is pretty small. All right. How about the Toyota Highlander?
PAUL: The Toyota Highlander and the Lexus RX 400H will be coming out probably early next year. And again, they're both SUVs. They'll both offer a lot of versatility and cargo space. And what Toyota is claiming is that these will actually be quicker than the gasoline versions. So that's...
COLLINS: Oh, really?
PAUL: In addition to the fuel savings, you'll get a quicker vehicle.
COLLINS: OK. Well, that's interesting, too. Now, what about diesel cars? Obviously this is not the first time that we have seen diesel cars. But we're looking at some improvements here as well.
PAUL: We haven't seen many diesels in the last couple of decades. But the diesel technology has improved so much that all of a sudden we're now going to see three new diesel cars for this '05: The Jeep Liberty, the Mercedes E Class and the Volkswagen Passat.
COLLINS: OK. PAUL: And diesel technology is getting much cleaner. In 2006 we're going to see a major event when low sulfur diesel fuel is phased in, which will allow diesel cars to be as clean as gasoline cars, supposedly.
COLLINS: Wow!
PAUL: And we'll probably be seeing a lot more diesels after that. Diesels get about 30 percent better fuel economy than gasoline.
COLLINS: So we don't have to try to get out of the way from driving behind one of them like we used to have to do.
PAUL: Exactly, yes.
COLLINS: Now, some new features are coming out on some old favorites. We've been talking about this one all morning. It was so nice of you to bring one for me. The Corvette, right?
PAUL: The Corvette. Want to go for a spin?
COLLINS: Yes.
PAUL: The Corvette, and actually the Ford Mustang are both cult cars. They're both icons of the American sports car scene.
COLLINS: Sure.
PAUL: And for one of them to be redesigned is a major event. But for '05 we're seeing both redesigned. Now, the Corvette, they're both about horsepower, performance. The Mustang gets 200 to 300 horsepower. The Corvette gets 400 horsepower.
COLLINS: That's so necessary, isn't it?
PAUL: Yes, they both engender a lot of passion.
COLLINS: All right. Well, here's one of my favorites, this Acura RL. This thing will actually tell you through its GPS system, right, about traffic?
PAUL: Yes. The Acura RL, which is also being redesigned for '05, is the first car to have a navigation system that gives you real- time traffic updates, so you can work your route around congested traffic.
COLLINS: That is fantastic.
PAUL: And this is something that navigation systems have not had a lot of appeal for a lot of commuters. But with this service, this tool, I think commuters will see a valuable service here.
COLLINS: Oh, yes, no question, especially in this part of the country. Also, a minivan that we want to talk about. I think this is the Honda Odyssey. Very interesting about the engine here. What's this thing going to do? PAUL: Yes, this is interesting. The Honda Odyssey, and actually the Chrysler 300-C, and the Honda Accord hybrid all have an engine that have what's called variable displacement technology. In this, it can actually drop out half the engine cylinders while cruising. So you don't use the fuel that's being used for those. So you save fuel on the highway.
COLLINS: So you're kind of coasting?
PAUL: And then as soon as you need power, like for acceleration on a hill, instantly all of the cylinders come back on. So you get the best of both worlds there.
COLLINS: It's not going to stall out on you or anything, though, is it?
PAUL: Well, we've driven the 300-C, and so far it works very seamlessly. And we're impressed with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Rik Paul there. And you can pick up "Consumer Reports" October issue on newsstands now, or you can visit ConsumerReports.Org.
Meanwhile, coming up on CNN that monster hurricane in the Caribbean. Ivan devastated Grenada. Now Jamaica is directly in its path. We're going to have a live report from the tourist island coming up in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, it's not even fall, but the world's top designers are already thinking spring. Fashion Week got under way yesterday in New York. And here now is a look at day No. 1.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH COLE, DESIGNER: What I did for the season mostly was very simple silhouettes, very clean, very refined, very understated, minimalistic. A lot of white and navy is important, and little injections of tangerines and sea foam.
WENDY CHIVIAN, PRES., PERRY ELLIS WOMENSWEAR: What you're seeing for spring is a lot of brocades, a lot of decoration. Very feminine, very romantic, almost flirty in certain cases.
TARA SUBKOFF, DESIGNER, IMITATION OF CHRIST: I really wanted to make something that was really comfortable, elegant, beautiful.
KATE BETTS, EDITOR, "TIME STYLE & DESIGN": Tara Subkoff of Imitation of Christ is a little edgier. It's interesting to see a downtown designer like her come uptown and show in Bryant Park, which is a very established kind of venue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Spring Fashion Week runs now through Tuesday. You're going, right?
HEMMER: Want to bet?
COLLINS: OK, in mind, in spirit maybe you'll be there.
HEMMER: That's right.
We've got to go, huh, Toure?
TOURE, "ROLLING STONE": Thanks for having me.
HEMMER: It's always wonderful. Gerri, tomorrow?
WILLIS: No, I won't be with you.
HEMMER: Andy's back?
WILLIS: Andy is back.
HEMMER: We've got to run.
Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN center.
Hey -- Daryn. How are you? Good morning.
KAGAN: I'm doing great. Only Andy Serwer would come back on a Friday to finish off the week.
HEMMER: Yes, perfect timing.
KAGAN: Yes. Hey, you guys have a great day in New York City. We will get started here.
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Aired September 9, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The Nasdaq Marketsite, 1850, off 8 points in trading from yesterday. And I believe in the middle there. See that gentleman right there in the gray jacket with the black turtleneck? Sweet Lou Peniella, former Yankee, former manager for the Cincinnati Reds, won a world championship in 1990, wire to wire in fact, that year beat the As four games and nil. Sweet Lou doing the honors there at the Nasdaq.
How are you?
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing great.
HEMMER: Yes? The rain stopped.
COLLINS: I know. It's coming though again, I think.
HEMMER: Frances.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Back here in a moment here, what kind of witness would the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of sexual assault have made had that case gone to criminal court? One of the prosecutors involved has an answer. She's talking now for the first time after that gag order was lifted. We'll see what she has to say in a few moments here.
COLLINS: Also, will the new cars of 2005 have the "wow" effect? I think that one gets a "wow" effect. We'll get a first look at the brand-new models when we talk to the automobile editor for "Consumer Reports."
For now, though, we want to check on what's happening now in the news with Daryn Kagan. She's at the CNN center for more on that.
Hi -- Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.
Hearings are getting under way at this hour at the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. The topic? Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Some lawmakers are looking at the Defense Department's two latest reports on claims of abuse at the prison.
Just days before the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge is launching National Preparedness Month. The agency hopes to get Americans to focus even more on security and planning for possible attacks in the U.S. The announcement is expected in about an hour and a half.
To the campaign trail now. President Bush is in Pennsylvania at this hour. He'll be rallying with supporters later this morning. Democratic rival John Kerry is now at a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. He heads to New Orleans this afternoon.
And Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to tell Congress this morning that genocide may be taking place in Sudan. Powell assessed the situation in Darfur during a visit last month. He's scheduled to go before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee any moment.
Heidi -- back to you.
COLLINS: All right. Daryn, you're coming up at 10:00 here. I want to know what's going on in your show.
KAGAN: We have a lot from all ends of the spectrum. On the serious side, I'll be talking to Rory Kennedy. She's made a new documentary on the nuclear power plant that is very close to New York City. And on the complete opposite end of things, we're doing Fashion Week, talking to the designers -- Heidi.
HEMMER: All right.
COLLINS: All right. Yes, both sides of the spectrum there, that's for sure. All right, Daryn, thanks so much. We look forward to it -- Bill.
HEMMER: Heidi, had the Kobe Bryant case gone to criminal trial, one of the lead prosecutors believe they could have proved Bryant was guilty of sexual assault. Deputy D.A. Dana Easter is telling "People" magazine the criminal case was solid before the accuser decided not to testify.
Elizabeth Glick is the assistant managing editor of "People." She gave us details on what the deputy D.A. has told the magazine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dana Easter says the accuser became physically ill. What aspect of the case brought on that condition?
ELIZABETH GLICKMAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: She said that basically the accuser was hounded. She would walk down the street, and people would whisper things and yell things. She had to move to five different states. She quit going to school. And it was months and months of leaks that were unfavorable to the prosecution's case.
HEMMER: With what she shared with you, how strong did she believe the evidence was against Bryant?
GLICKMAN: It was very striking. I mean, obviously she has her own spin. But she felt not only that the evidence against Bryant was very, very strong, but that the accuser herself would have made a very strong witness had they come face to face.
HEMMER: Did she express any weak points in the case? Any concerns where she thought, you know, if I'm in front of that jury, I may have a problem with this or that?
GLICKMAN: No, she didn't go there. She had a response for sort of everything that we've been hearing in the last few months. Did the accuser have consensual sex with somebody after her encounter with Bryant? She had responses for every piece of this.
HEMMER: Did she happen to pin it on the judge? Because some legal analysts have said the judge was not tough enough on Pamela Mackey, who was the attorney for Bryant?
GLICKMAN: Right. She didn't go there with us. She was really describing to us the ordeal that the accuser went through, and just how incredibly tough it's been for the last year or so.
HEMMER: Yes, we mentioned the leaks, though. But in the preliminary hearing, I believe it was on day one, when Pamela Mackey mentioned the accuser's name six times, reprimanded each time by the judge.
GLICKMAN: Right.
HEMMER: Did she indicate whether or not that was the beginning of the downfall for the accuser?
GLICKMAN: She just said to us sort of over and over again, it was a total accumulation of things. It was the inability for the accuser to lead any sort of normal life. It was the leaks. It was the suggestion that she was mentally unstable in some way. It was just months of mounting difficulties.
HEMMER: Did she express an opinion about the D.A.?
GLICKMAN: No.
HEMMER: And how it was handled in Eagle County?
GLICKMAN: No, she did not.
HEMMER: Did she say anything about the civil case now, and whether or not she believes they have a chance for success?
GLICKMAN: The civil case is all -- we spoke with Lin Wood (ph), also one of the attorneys handling the civil case. Nobody's talking about what's going to happen, because they're in the middle of hammering out a settlement right this minute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Elizabeth Glick, assistant managing editor for "People" magazine with the prosecution's side of the story. We tried, unable, though, to get any call-backs from Kobe Bryant's lawyers to give their view on what's printed in "People" magazine. (WEATHER BREAK)
COLLINS: When it comes to heart disease, a new study suggests it's OK to be overweight as long as you're physically active.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN center now with more details on this.
It's kind of interesting -- Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Heidi.
A lot of people talk about whether it's better to be fit or better to be trim. It's sort of interesting. Obviously, a lot of attention is being focused on body weight and obesity and just being overweight in general.
But maybe perhaps getting lost in all of that is the amount of physical activity also needed to keep you healthy.
An interesting study coming out of the University of Florida actually following over 900 women. These women were typically middle- aged women, 75 percent of them were overweight. About half of them almost were obese. Fifty-five percent had high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and 39 percent had clogged arteries.
The questions they asked them were this: Could they walk up a flight of stairs without becoming short of breath? Could they walk several steps just walking on flat ground without experiencing any difficulties? The questions were trying to determine the women's activity status.
What they found sort of interesting really going to the heart of this fit versus trim thing was that the overweight-but-fit women had less cardiovascular disease than women who were lean and unfit. Again, overweight-but-fit women had a better cardiovascular profile than the women who were lean and unfit.
It says a lot of different messages here, Heidi. Obviously, it's important to move. It's important to not be sedentary. About 30 minutes a day, five times a week may reduce your cardiovascular risk, your risk of heart attack by about 50 percent.
And also just because you're trim and lean doesn't mean you're necessarily healthy -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, clear that up for us, if you can. Does it really actually mean that it's not so important to be trim?
GUPTA: No. You know, I think most doctors would say, hey, listen, the best thing is to be both fit and trim.
With regards to things like diabetes, overall weight, obviously getting trim is going to be very important. But if you're looking at your cardiovascular health long term, it may be better to get out there and move.
Also, I think it sends a message, you know, throw away the scales. A lot of trainers will tell women who are starting to work out for the first time, don't bother weighing yourself every day. That's not your parameter of success. Rather, just get moving. That's going to improve your blood flow and reduce your chances of having a hart attack in the long run -- Heidi.
COLLINS: So, does every woman need to be heading to the gym, like, right now?
GUPTA: No. You know, and that's another point that the authors really made in this study is that, you know, you don't necessarily need to get to a gym. Just being active around the home, for example, instead of being sedentary, be active around home. Be active when you go out. Take stairs instead of taking the elevator, for example. Housework, gardening work, all of that sort of stuff. Just get up moving, and that can really do you a lot of good in the long run, again, in terms of having a heart attack in the long run -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, yes, I guess so. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much for that.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi. We want to get to Colin Powell right now. The secretary of state is testifying on Capitol Hill now. Let's listen here now.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: ... hundreds of thousands of people had been forced from their homes, from their villages to camps, where there is an absolute need for the international community to come together and speak with one voice as to how we deal with this situation.
Mr. Chairman, I do have a prepared statement that I'd like to offer for the record, and then I will draw from that in my opening marks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be published in full. And please proceed as you wish.
POWELL: Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, let me thank you for this opportunity to testify on the situation in Darfur.
And let me begin by reviewing a little history. The violence in Darfur has complex roots and traditional conflicts between Arab nomadic herders and African farmers. The violence intensified during 2003 when two groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, declared open rebellion against the government of Sudan, because they feared being on the outside of the power and wealth-sharing agreements that were being arranged in the north-south negotiations; the Naivasha discussions, as we call them.
Khartoum reacted aggressively, intensifying support for Arab militias to take on these rebels and support for what are known as the Janjaweed. The government of Sudan supported the Janjaweed directly and indirectly as they carried out a scorched earth policy toward the rebels and the African civilian population in Darfur.
Mr. Chairman, the United States exerted strong leadership to focus international attention on this unfolding tragedy. We first took the issue of Sudan to the United Nations Security Council last fall. President Bush was the first head of state to condemn publicly the government of Sudan, and to urge the international community to intensify efforts to end the violence.
In April of this year, the United States brokered a cease-fire between the government of Sudan and the rebels, and then took the lead to get the African Union to monitor that cease-fire.
As some of you are aware, I traveled to the Sudan in mid-summer and made a point of visiting Darfur. It was about the same time that Congressman Wolf and Senator Brownback were there, as well as Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In fact, the secretary-general and I were able to meet in Khartoum to exchange our notes and to make sure that gave a consistent message to the Sudanese government of what was expected of them.
Senator Brownback can back me up when I say that all of us saw the suffering that the people of Darfur are having to endure. And Senator Corzine was just in Darfur recently and can vouch for the fact that atrocities are still occurring.
All of us met with people who had been driven from their homes by the terrible violence that is occurring in Darfur. Indeed, many of them having seen their homes and all of their worldly possessions destroyed or confiscated before their eyes.
During my visit, humanitarian workers from my own agency, USAID, and from other non-governmental organizations, told me how they are struggling to bring food, shelter and medicines to those so desperately in need; a population, as you noted, Mr. Chairman, of well over a million.
In my mid-summer meetings with officials of the government of Sudan, we presented them with the stark facts of what we knew about what is happening in Darfur from the destruction of villages to the raping and the killing, to the obstacles that impeded relief efforts.
Secretary-General Annan and I obtained from the government of Sudan what they said would be firm commitments to take steps and to take steps immediately that would remove these obstacles, help bring the violence to an end, and do it in a way that we could monitor their performance.
There have been some positive developments since my visit, since visit of Senator Brownback, Congressman Wolf and the secretary- general. The Sudanese have met some of our benchmarks, such as improving humanitarian access, engaging in political talks with the rebels and supporting the deployment of observers and troops from the African Union to monitor the cease-fire between Khartoum and the rebels.
The AU Cease-Fire Commission has also been set up and is working to monitor more effectively what is happening in Darfur. The general who is in charge of that mission, a Nigerian general by the name of General Okonkwo, is somebody that we know well. He is the same Nigerian general who went into Liberia last year and helped stabilize the situation there, a very good officer, a good commander who knows his business.
The AU's mission will help to restore sufficient security so that these dislocated, starving, hounded people can at least avail themselves of the humanitarian assistance that is available. But what is really needed is enough security so that they can go home, not be safe in camps. We need security throughout the countryside. These people need to go home. We are not interested in creating a permanent displaced population that survives in camps on the dole of the international community.
And what is really needed to accomplish that is for the Janjaweed militias to cease and desist their murderous raids against these people and for the government in Khartoum to stop being complicit in such raids.
Khartoum has made no meaningful progress in substantially improving the overall security environment by disarming the Janjaweed militias or arresting its leaders.
So we are continuing to press the government of Sudan, and we continue to monitor them. We continue to make sure that we are not just left with promises instead of actual action and performance on the ground.
Because it is absolutely clear that as we approach the end of the rainy season, the situation on the ground must change and it must change quickly. There are too many tens upon tens of thousands of human beings who are at risk. Some of them have already been consigned to death in the future because of the circumstances they are living in now. They will not make it through the end of the year. Poor security, inadequate capacity and heavy rains which will not diminish until later this month continue to hamper the relief effort.
The United Nations estimates that there are 1,227,000 internally- displaced persons in Darfur. In July, almost 950,000 IDPs received food assistance. About 200,000 Sudanese refugees are being assisted by the UNHCR and partner organizations across the border in Chad. The World Food Program expects two million IDPs will need food aid by October.
The United States government provision of aid to the Darfur crisis in the Sudan and Chad total $211 million as of September 2, 2004. This includes $112 million in food assistance, $50 million in non-food assistance, $36 million for refugees in Chad, $5 million for refugee programs in Darfur, and $6.8 million for the African Union mission.
The U.S. also strongly supports the work of the AU monitoring mission in Darfur. In fact, we initiated the mission through base camp setup and logistic support by a private contractor that we are paying for. The AU mission is currently staffed with 125 AU monitors now deployed in the field. And those monitors have already completed 20 investigations of cease-fire violations, and their reports are now being written up and being provided to the AU and to the U.N. and to the international community.
HEMMER: Secretary of State Colin Powell talking about the latest in the Darfur region of Sudan, having visited there a few months back in mid-summer, as he described there. And also telling members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he has concluded that genocide has been committed. In very strong words, too, very eerie words, too, from the secretary of state, saying tens of thousands of human beings are still at risk, and perhaps many of them may not make it to the end of this year.
We'll follow it. Secretary of State Colin Powell, the strongest words to date that we have monitored from the State Department regarding the situation in Sudan.
A break here. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. A check on Wall Street right now. And Starbucks is making waves in music.
Gerri Willis working for Andy today, "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning.
Let's start with those markets. They're looking higher today, and I'll tell you why. Nokia has some good news here. They're saying that they're selling more cell phones, which is good news. It represents a turn-around for them.
We had some bad news from Texas Instruments, but it looks like -- look at this, the Dow Industrial is up 12 points. They're going to be paying attention to the Nokia news today.
HEMMER: Yes, give me a CD with that ground latte, will you?
WILLIS: Yes, absolutely. This is amazing. Starbucks is selling ton of CDs, specifically the new Ray Charles CD, which is called "Genius Loves Company," 12 duets. I don't know if you've heard this, but it's really, really great. Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Elton John, you name it, they're on it. You're seeing a picture of it right here.
It's the No. 2 selling album in the country right now. Starbucks sold 44,000 of these things.
HEMMER: Really?
WILLIS: So, you know, the record industry is so worried about Napster and KaZaA. Forget about it. It's really Starbucks they've got to worry about.
HEMMER: That and Biscotti (ph). Thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Good to have you here.
COLLINS: So, what kinds of cars will be hitting the road in 2005? Well, "Consumer Reports" has just released its annual preview of next year's models. That list is in the October issue on newsstands right now.
I spoke with Rik Paul. He's the auto editor for "Consumer Reports." Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: One thing that you're pretty excited about are these hybrid cars. There are some now models coming out. Let's go through some of them. The first one, Ford Escape. What's great about that
RIK PAUL, AUTO EDITOR, "CONSUMER REPORTS": The Ford Escape is the first hybrid SUV. And so that will provide a little more cargo room, a lot more versatility than the current hybrids do. And then after that, we'll see the Honda Accord hybrid, which is a mid-sized sedan. It's the first mid-sized sedan hybrid. And that should be very good, too.
COLLINS: That one is pretty small. All right. How about the Toyota Highlander?
PAUL: The Toyota Highlander and the Lexus RX 400H will be coming out probably early next year. And again, they're both SUVs. They'll both offer a lot of versatility and cargo space. And what Toyota is claiming is that these will actually be quicker than the gasoline versions. So that's...
COLLINS: Oh, really?
PAUL: In addition to the fuel savings, you'll get a quicker vehicle.
COLLINS: OK. Well, that's interesting, too. Now, what about diesel cars? Obviously this is not the first time that we have seen diesel cars. But we're looking at some improvements here as well.
PAUL: We haven't seen many diesels in the last couple of decades. But the diesel technology has improved so much that all of a sudden we're now going to see three new diesel cars for this '05: The Jeep Liberty, the Mercedes E Class and the Volkswagen Passat.
COLLINS: OK. PAUL: And diesel technology is getting much cleaner. In 2006 we're going to see a major event when low sulfur diesel fuel is phased in, which will allow diesel cars to be as clean as gasoline cars, supposedly.
COLLINS: Wow!
PAUL: And we'll probably be seeing a lot more diesels after that. Diesels get about 30 percent better fuel economy than gasoline.
COLLINS: So we don't have to try to get out of the way from driving behind one of them like we used to have to do.
PAUL: Exactly, yes.
COLLINS: Now, some new features are coming out on some old favorites. We've been talking about this one all morning. It was so nice of you to bring one for me. The Corvette, right?
PAUL: The Corvette. Want to go for a spin?
COLLINS: Yes.
PAUL: The Corvette, and actually the Ford Mustang are both cult cars. They're both icons of the American sports car scene.
COLLINS: Sure.
PAUL: And for one of them to be redesigned is a major event. But for '05 we're seeing both redesigned. Now, the Corvette, they're both about horsepower, performance. The Mustang gets 200 to 300 horsepower. The Corvette gets 400 horsepower.
COLLINS: That's so necessary, isn't it?
PAUL: Yes, they both engender a lot of passion.
COLLINS: All right. Well, here's one of my favorites, this Acura RL. This thing will actually tell you through its GPS system, right, about traffic?
PAUL: Yes. The Acura RL, which is also being redesigned for '05, is the first car to have a navigation system that gives you real- time traffic updates, so you can work your route around congested traffic.
COLLINS: That is fantastic.
PAUL: And this is something that navigation systems have not had a lot of appeal for a lot of commuters. But with this service, this tool, I think commuters will see a valuable service here.
COLLINS: Oh, yes, no question, especially in this part of the country. Also, a minivan that we want to talk about. I think this is the Honda Odyssey. Very interesting about the engine here. What's this thing going to do? PAUL: Yes, this is interesting. The Honda Odyssey, and actually the Chrysler 300-C, and the Honda Accord hybrid all have an engine that have what's called variable displacement technology. In this, it can actually drop out half the engine cylinders while cruising. So you don't use the fuel that's being used for those. So you save fuel on the highway.
COLLINS: So you're kind of coasting?
PAUL: And then as soon as you need power, like for acceleration on a hill, instantly all of the cylinders come back on. So you get the best of both worlds there.
COLLINS: It's not going to stall out on you or anything, though, is it?
PAUL: Well, we've driven the 300-C, and so far it works very seamlessly. And we're impressed with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Rik Paul there. And you can pick up "Consumer Reports" October issue on newsstands now, or you can visit ConsumerReports.Org.
Meanwhile, coming up on CNN that monster hurricane in the Caribbean. Ivan devastated Grenada. Now Jamaica is directly in its path. We're going to have a live report from the tourist island coming up in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, it's not even fall, but the world's top designers are already thinking spring. Fashion Week got under way yesterday in New York. And here now is a look at day No. 1.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH COLE, DESIGNER: What I did for the season mostly was very simple silhouettes, very clean, very refined, very understated, minimalistic. A lot of white and navy is important, and little injections of tangerines and sea foam.
WENDY CHIVIAN, PRES., PERRY ELLIS WOMENSWEAR: What you're seeing for spring is a lot of brocades, a lot of decoration. Very feminine, very romantic, almost flirty in certain cases.
TARA SUBKOFF, DESIGNER, IMITATION OF CHRIST: I really wanted to make something that was really comfortable, elegant, beautiful.
KATE BETTS, EDITOR, "TIME STYLE & DESIGN": Tara Subkoff of Imitation of Christ is a little edgier. It's interesting to see a downtown designer like her come uptown and show in Bryant Park, which is a very established kind of venue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Spring Fashion Week runs now through Tuesday. You're going, right?
HEMMER: Want to bet?
COLLINS: OK, in mind, in spirit maybe you'll be there.
HEMMER: That's right.
We've got to go, huh, Toure?
TOURE, "ROLLING STONE": Thanks for having me.
HEMMER: It's always wonderful. Gerri, tomorrow?
WILLIS: No, I won't be with you.
HEMMER: Andy's back?
WILLIS: Andy is back.
HEMMER: We've got to run.
Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN center.
Hey -- Daryn. How are you? Good morning.
KAGAN: I'm doing great. Only Andy Serwer would come back on a Friday to finish off the week.
HEMMER: Yes, perfect timing.
KAGAN: Yes. Hey, you guys have a great day in New York City. We will get started here.
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