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American Morning

Search Continues for Florida Girl; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'

Aired September 22, 2004 - 08:30   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: Here in New York City, a pretty good day to be in the Park. 8:31. Not bad. Look at that morning. We'll take that.
Welcome back, everyone. In a few moments here, we're going back to the story in the south. A search for a 12-year-old girl disappearing from her bedroom, apparently with a man working at her family home. She may not have known how potentially dangerous the man is. We'll check where police are looking for the two in a few moments here.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, a diet that's making a big difference in people's health, and it's built on some of the tastiest foods you can bite into. What was that, pasta or something? Sanjay will tell us what the doctors are saying about this one. Look forward to that.

Kelly Wallace is looking at the stories now in the news this morning for us. Good morning to you once again, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, again, to you. And good morning, everyone.

We begin with President Bush, who has now concluded his meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly just a short while ago. These images just coming in now to CNN. Among the topics discussed this morning: al Qaeda and the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

It is being called one of the largest weapons deals between the United States and Israel in years. Israel military sources say they will buy some 5,000 smart bombs from the United States. The announcement comes just days after a U.S. defense agency notified Congress of a possible military sale to Israel worth as much as $319 million.

Police in Michigan say they have more evidence against the student accused of plotting an attack at his high school with a rifle. Police say they confiscated hundreds of videotapes from Andrew Osantowski, including one in which he apparently fires a stolen AK-47. The 17-year-old reportedly discussed his plans to attack a high school on the Internet. His father is also charged in the case

And U.S. Olympic cyclist Tyler Hamilton is denying blood doping claims that could cost him his gold medal. The last round of blood tests are being done this morning. Hamilton is accused of getting a blood transfusion right before his race at the Olympics in Athens. It could have increased his red blood cell count and boosted his performance.

A quick check of the headlines. Back to Heidi and Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Kelly. Thanks for that.

Two presidential candidates now painting far different pictures of the situation in Iraq. Who's right? With us to debate that today and also the CBS fallout, Democratic consultant Victor Kamber back with us. Vic, good morning to you.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Also, here in New York City, Republican strategist Joe Watkins with us, as well. We call this Kamber and Watkins. Good morning to both.

You know, Victor, below the fold today, "New York Times," one Iraq, two different campaign views. Kerry says Bush is not living in reality. Bush says now is not the time to cut and run. Start us off, Victor: Where does this debate go?

KAMBER: Well, I'm not sure anyone's really calling for -- well, there are some, but I don't think Kerry's campaign is calling for cut and run. Kerry's campaign is saying let's be honest with the American public. Let's not sit there and talk about "Mission Accomplished" -- the world is better and freer because Saddam Hussein and everything is hunky-dory.

We want a country, there's no question. Democrats, Republicans, Americans, we want Iraq to be free. We want our troops to come home. We want an end in Iraq. But we also have a reality: We're losing lives.

I mean, that wonderful interview that you just did -- or that was just done a few minutes ago with the Hensley family, I mean, the fact that an American, his head came off in a barbaric country. We are losing lives: 1,000 dead; 8,000 wounded; thousands upon thousands of Iraqis losing their lives; unemployment; homelessness over there. And an unlimited amount of money going -- I mean, this is not a situation where things are better.

HEMMER: You raise a great point when you talk about the beheadings, Joe. How do these events in the past 24 to 36 hours affect the debate on Iraq?

JOE WATKINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it just underscores what the president has been saying and the president's firm resolve to see this conflict through.

This is not a time to cut and run. This is not a time to pursue an isolationist strategy. There is no safe isolation from terrorism or from rogue nations or from failed dictators who harbor terrorists. And the president said that so eloquently yesterday at the United Nations.

This is a time to be strong and to root out the thugs and to bring them to justice. And that's what this president is doing. And especially in light of what happened, now more than ever, we need a president who has resolve, who's determined to bring this thing to a safe end.

KAMBER: Joe, who's asking for cutting and running?

WATKINS: Well, clearly the Kerry people are saying we need to get permission from the United Nations, we need to get permission from...

KAMBER: They're asking for help; they're not saying cut and run.

WATKINS: ... that we need to step back from the aggressive policy that we set of capturing these terrorists.

KAMBER: Joe, they have never said that. Let's not put -- let's not play the Bush game of lies here.

WATKINS: This is not a time to cut and run, Vic.

KAMBER: Let's not play the Bush game of lies.

WATKINS: Bush is level-headed.

KAMBER: Bush is saying everything is better, and it's not.

WATKINS: No, he's not saying that everything is better. What he's saying is...

KAMBER: Sure he is.

WATKINS: ... that this is not the time to cut and run.

KAMBER: No one's cutting and running.

WATKINS: He has the kind of firm resolve to bring the terrorists to justice.

HEMMER: Leave it there. Giving you a chance.

Let's talk about our next topic on "60 Minutes" and CBS. There are reports that suggest lawsuits may be filed on behalf of Bill Burkett. Those reports are not confirmed just yet. CBS says the producer, Mary Mapes, was wrong to contact the Kerry campaign.

I don't know where we're going to go from here. Ed Koch was on our program, yesterday, a Democratic here in New York, that says the story has a lot of legs and it's not over just yet.

Just -- Joe, why don't you start us off on this one?

WATKINS: Glad to.

HEMMER: What is next on this story?

WATKINS: Well, clearly, Bill, this is such an unfortunate thing. And what all Americans I think are looking for is a fair and balanced media -- a media that doesn't have an obvious bias for or against a candidate.

And CBS did the right thing: They apologized. They said that they were sorry for what happened. And now they've launched an investigation. And the investigation will show us, I suppose, who it was that was at fault here and who talked to the Kerry campaign.

At the same time, Dan Rather did the right thing, as well: He apologized. But it's unfortunate -- it is so unfortunate that a network would go after a candidate for the presidency -- in this case, President Bush.

HEMMER: Victor, where does it go?

KAMBER: Well, I didn't know what network he's talking about when he says a network that goes after a candidate for president. We have one network that's wholly owned by the Republican party. I won't mention them.

WATKINS: I'm talking about CBS, Vic.

KAMBER: I know who you're talking about, but I think we all know there's another network called FOX that this is wholly owned.

I agree with Joe's sentiments, that our airways should be free of bias. But we are human beings, people are there. Kerry had nothing to do with what CBS did. I took a quarter out here...

WATKINS: Let's not...

KAMBER: I took a quarter out here. I'd give it to Joe. I'll give it to you, Bill. I'll give you Dan Rather's phone number. I have it on my Rolodex in the office. You can all call him and find out what happened.

HEMMER: Let's leave it there.

KAMBER: Kerry's people had nothing to do with this.

WATKINS: I'd love to take your money, Vic.

HEMMER: Even if it is just a quarter.

KAMBER: You've got the quarter.

HEMMER: Kamber and Watkins, thank you guys. We'll talk again next week.

Here's Heidi again.

COLLINS: What was supposed to be a routine London to Washington, D.C. flight turned into a travel nightmare for passengers. The plane was diverted to Bangor, Maine, after federal officials discovered one of the passengers was the folk singer formerly known as Cat Stevens. A government official said Yusuf Islam is on a federal watch list because of known associations and financial support to organizations believed to be aiding terrorism. Islam was denied entry into the United States after being questioned. He is being deported to London today.

A missing Florida girl is feared to be on the run with a man who is a registered sex offender. CNN's Eric Philips has a report now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NORA SCHULTHEIS: ... she -- she is so much more mature in the face than that now.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sunday when Nora Schultheis went to check on her sleeping daughter, she discovered Briana was gone. The window was open, and a backpack and personal items were missing.

Surveillance cameras at a Tallahassee bus station show the 12- year-old was there with a man, 30-year-old Raymond Lewis, who used to do odd jobs for the family. More importantly, witnesses tell investigators they saw the pair at the Atlanta Greyhound station around 3:00 Sunday afternoon.

JEFF HOLMES, ATLANTA FBI: Based on some pictures we have seen from the bus station down in Tallahassee and based on some reports from up here, it would appear that she is not being held against her will.

PHILIPS: Lewis and Briana met after he was hired by her father to help around the house. When her mother learned that Lewis was a registered sex offender, she fired him.

HOLMES: I think it was their possible suspicion of what they may have perceived the relationship between their daughter and Lewis to be that caused them to check.

PHILIPS: Authorities say that suspicion may have been prompted by letters between Lewis and Briana. An Amber alert has been issued in both Florida and Georgia, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Briana's whereabouts and Lewis' arrest. Authorities believe the to are still in the Atlanta area. The girl's mother is pleading for her return.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Briana, mama loves you and I miss you. I just want you to come home.

PHILIPS: Eric Philips, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We can understand the woman's anxiety there. Police are still searching, as Eric mentioned, for the two in Atlanta this morning.

HEMMER: About 20 minutes now before the hour.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And you were talking about flights this morning, well, still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business." He'll tell us about a food fight going on at one of the major airlines.

HEMMER: Also Dr. Gupta back with us, talking about food today. When it comes to losing weight, maybe you should think Greek instead of South Beach. Sanjay explains, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We're paging Dr. Gupta this morning about diet, Mediterranean Style. New research suggesting a diet high in fruit, vegetables and moderation is a recipe for good health and long life.

Sanjay is joining us now from the CNN Center with details on this.

So, finally, some good news, like, hey, you can eat this stuff, right?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and it's not bad for you. It tastes pretty good as well. They call it the Mediterranean Diet. It's actually been around for some time. Take a look at some of the various foods that comprise the Mediterranean Diet. This is my desk, by the way, all this food sitting on it. I'm going to tell you about the specifics of this diet in just a moment.

But, Heidi, when we talk about the Mediterranean Diet, it's something that has been around for some time, talking specifically about the nuts, fruits, whole grains, foods like that, but there've been some studies out that show its comparison to some of the other diets and it's beneficial effects potentially on heart disease.

Two studies, coming out of the Journal of the American Medical Association, specifically -- and this one talking about older people, people 70 to 90 years old, finds that it lowers the rate of heart disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer by 50 percent.

Another study actually looking at younger people, people like you and me, Heidi, and they show that it has a lower -- reduces the effect of metabolic syndrome by about half as well. So some good news there on the Mediterranean Diet -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, good news on our age. I'll take that younger reference every time.

So tell me, though, Sanjay, what is metabolic syndrome?

GUPTA: Well, metabolic syndrome is something that a lot of people are starting to use as a gauge who for who is likely to develop conditions like heart disease, diabetes, perhaps even certain types of cancer later in life. It's made up of several different factors. Some of them are obvious, being overweight for example, low evil levels of the good kind of cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high levels of something known as C-reactive protein. This is something you can find on a blood test. If you have two or three of these, doctor are going to be a little bit more concerned about whether or not you may develop significant heart disease later in life.

Again, what they're showing with the study now out of the Journal of the American Medical Association is that you can reduce the likelihood of that by about half by using the Mediterranean Diet.

COLLINS: I've got to be honest. I haven't eaten a lot of Mediterranean foods, but we already mentioned fruits and vegetables. What exactly are we talking about here?

GUPTA: You know, Heidi, there are sixteen countries that border the Mediterranean Seam, so there's all sorts of different combinations of a Mediterranean Diet, but what most people think of -- we're going to show you the foods here specifically. First of all, you're not going to sea red meat. You're not going to see regular milk. What you're going to see food like chicken, that you there, salmon, lots of fishes, you're going to see on the list as well. You're going to see The fruits and vegetables, lots of nuts, as well.

A lot of these diets are focused on nonsaturated fats, unsaturated fats, olive oil as well you see here. Wine, everybody loves a little Vino, although maybe not this early in the morning, some whole grain bread, fetta cheese. You'll see yogurt, so you'll get your daily products there, but again, you're not going to see milk.

Typically, again, with a diet like this, very low in saturated fat, high in unsaturated fats, it's not a new idea. They call it the Mediterranean Diet. If you eat it, they say, you may lose weight and lower your risk of heart disease -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, some great stuff to think about there, Sanjay. And I know you have a -- the start of a series tomorrow. Tell us a little bit about that.

GUPTA: Yes, you remember Soledad O'Brien. We haven't seen her in a while. Well, we're going to check in on Soledad. She has four children at home now. She just had twins as many of us know. And we talk about Soledad. We're going check in on her, and also get some advice from moms who have been taking care of multiples, see how they do it, present that to you tomorrow. It's called "Crowded House," every Thursday for a few weeks -- Heidi.

COLLINS: "Crowded House," better than burning down the house, huh?

Sanjay, thanks so much.

In a moment here, going to move away from olive oil to milk. Seems some fast food restaurants looking at a vitamin D mystery and so will we after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back. The microphone wasn't on; now it is.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Are we all set?

HEMMER: It's all yours.

CAFFERTY: Here we go.

There was a food fight between Delta and its caterer. Andy Serwer, who is really impressed at the rousing start his segment gets off to here, is "Minding Your Business" with more on this and a market preview.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: We're charging ahead. All right, listen, I'll take it from here.

CAFFERTY: Fine.

SERWER: If you are flying delta airlines today, you may want to bring a sandwich, because Delta may not have any food. It's in a dispute with its caterer, are a company called Gate Gourmet, and they are not loading any food on the planes. Last night, Delta was busy stuffing all the food it could on its planes, because they knew this was coming. This morning's CNN's Mike Brooks reporting that Delta is filing an injunction against Gate -- does the news get any worse for these people?

CAFFERTY: Can I ask you a question, why is it bad news that you may be unable to get airline food on one of the major airlines soon? Why is that seen a negative?

SERWER: I think a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than anything they serve.

CAFFERTY: Yes, I mean, I would think that might be a positive.

SERWER: I mean, let's start the trend here, get rid of all the food.

CAFFERTY: Gate Gourmet?

SERWER: Gate not.

Let's talk more about food. Sales of milk at fast food restaurants going through the roof. It's unbelievable. Since July, Wendy's reporting milk sales up 15 fold, 15 times. At McDonald's, it doubled since May. There's a story in "The Wall Street Journal." Why? It's all about packaging. They are no longer serving milk in those old school cardboard boxes. They're serving milk in these nifty little containers here.

CAFFERTY: Those are pretty cool.

SERWER: This is nothing compared to Sanjay's little cornucopia. I feed a little inadequate here. But look at this. This is serious stuff. And of course, right here, that's got sugar in it, because that's chocolate milk. But kids are going nuts.

I know, that's always a great compromise for parent, you going to have milk or chocolate milk? These things are just -- they're just flying.

And we should talk a little bit about the markets.

CAFFERTY: Why don't we?

SERWER: Well, let's do that. We reported earlier this morning, Interstate Bakeries, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, filing for bankruptcy this morning. Low-carb craze hurting them.

Look at this, making those Twinkies, making that bread. That's Wonderbread right there.

That's Wonder Bread right there. And so that stock is down 60 percent in premarket trading. So we watch that stock.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Andy.

Here we go, time for "The Cafferty File." Wednesday, things people say, beginning with, "Look what they tried to do to Richard Clarke. Look what they did to Paul O'Neill. If they don't like the message they beat up on the messenger." This is Kitty Kelley, whining about her new book on the Bush family, which has been criticized for being sensational. Just make the bank deposits, Kitty, OK?

"I didn't know we had to call him 'Mr. President.' We were introduced, and said, 'Hi George, what's up?' He seemed fine with that, I think."

This is some idiot named Joss Stone, an up and coming, I am told, British pop singer. I have no firsthand knowledge of what she actually does, besides be rude to the nation's chief executives. This is when she met George Bush.

SERWER: She's a good singer.

CAFFERTY: I wonder if she calls the queen "Betsy" over there.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Here we go with the Teresa Kerry thing: "Clothing is wonderful, but let them go naked for a while, at least the kids." This is Mrs. John Kerry advising Hurricane relief workers to send food and water before clothes. Earlier I didn't explain the whole think because it was just a tease. We just teased, just do a little bit. It was just -- people writing in, you're such a terrible human being.

SERWER: That's for real, though.

CAFFERTY: That's for real. She's not helping. Here's another one, "My super-long toes. My family called me French Fry toes. My friends call me monkey toes, because they think I can hold on to a branch," Actress Cheryl Hines when asked what body part would you change. This is an interview in "People" magazine. I'd like to see a picture of her feet actually.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And to the same question in the same magazine, my favorite quote of the month, maybe the year, Cybill Shepherd said, "I'm afraid to start plastic surgery, and my breasts are so versatile now, I can wear them down, up or side to side." All right, Cybill.

SERWER: Versatility. Yes, versatility is big in Hollywood.

HEMMER: Dexterity.

Thank you, Jack.

HEMMER: Get a break here in a moment. Back live to the Pentagon. New information today regarding the reported release of a top scientist from the former regime of Saddam Hussein. What's happening there we'll check it out. Back in a moment, after this.

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Aired September 22, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Here in New York City, a pretty good day to be in the Park. 8:31. Not bad. Look at that morning. We'll take that.
Welcome back, everyone. In a few moments here, we're going back to the story in the south. A search for a 12-year-old girl disappearing from her bedroom, apparently with a man working at her family home. She may not have known how potentially dangerous the man is. We'll check where police are looking for the two in a few moments here.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, a diet that's making a big difference in people's health, and it's built on some of the tastiest foods you can bite into. What was that, pasta or something? Sanjay will tell us what the doctors are saying about this one. Look forward to that.

Kelly Wallace is looking at the stories now in the news this morning for us. Good morning to you once again, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, again, to you. And good morning, everyone.

We begin with President Bush, who has now concluded his meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly just a short while ago. These images just coming in now to CNN. Among the topics discussed this morning: al Qaeda and the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

It is being called one of the largest weapons deals between the United States and Israel in years. Israel military sources say they will buy some 5,000 smart bombs from the United States. The announcement comes just days after a U.S. defense agency notified Congress of a possible military sale to Israel worth as much as $319 million.

Police in Michigan say they have more evidence against the student accused of plotting an attack at his high school with a rifle. Police say they confiscated hundreds of videotapes from Andrew Osantowski, including one in which he apparently fires a stolen AK-47. The 17-year-old reportedly discussed his plans to attack a high school on the Internet. His father is also charged in the case

And U.S. Olympic cyclist Tyler Hamilton is denying blood doping claims that could cost him his gold medal. The last round of blood tests are being done this morning. Hamilton is accused of getting a blood transfusion right before his race at the Olympics in Athens. It could have increased his red blood cell count and boosted his performance.

A quick check of the headlines. Back to Heidi and Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Kelly. Thanks for that.

Two presidential candidates now painting far different pictures of the situation in Iraq. Who's right? With us to debate that today and also the CBS fallout, Democratic consultant Victor Kamber back with us. Vic, good morning to you.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Also, here in New York City, Republican strategist Joe Watkins with us, as well. We call this Kamber and Watkins. Good morning to both.

You know, Victor, below the fold today, "New York Times," one Iraq, two different campaign views. Kerry says Bush is not living in reality. Bush says now is not the time to cut and run. Start us off, Victor: Where does this debate go?

KAMBER: Well, I'm not sure anyone's really calling for -- well, there are some, but I don't think Kerry's campaign is calling for cut and run. Kerry's campaign is saying let's be honest with the American public. Let's not sit there and talk about "Mission Accomplished" -- the world is better and freer because Saddam Hussein and everything is hunky-dory.

We want a country, there's no question. Democrats, Republicans, Americans, we want Iraq to be free. We want our troops to come home. We want an end in Iraq. But we also have a reality: We're losing lives.

I mean, that wonderful interview that you just did -- or that was just done a few minutes ago with the Hensley family, I mean, the fact that an American, his head came off in a barbaric country. We are losing lives: 1,000 dead; 8,000 wounded; thousands upon thousands of Iraqis losing their lives; unemployment; homelessness over there. And an unlimited amount of money going -- I mean, this is not a situation where things are better.

HEMMER: You raise a great point when you talk about the beheadings, Joe. How do these events in the past 24 to 36 hours affect the debate on Iraq?

JOE WATKINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it just underscores what the president has been saying and the president's firm resolve to see this conflict through.

This is not a time to cut and run. This is not a time to pursue an isolationist strategy. There is no safe isolation from terrorism or from rogue nations or from failed dictators who harbor terrorists. And the president said that so eloquently yesterday at the United Nations.

This is a time to be strong and to root out the thugs and to bring them to justice. And that's what this president is doing. And especially in light of what happened, now more than ever, we need a president who has resolve, who's determined to bring this thing to a safe end.

KAMBER: Joe, who's asking for cutting and running?

WATKINS: Well, clearly the Kerry people are saying we need to get permission from the United Nations, we need to get permission from...

KAMBER: They're asking for help; they're not saying cut and run.

WATKINS: ... that we need to step back from the aggressive policy that we set of capturing these terrorists.

KAMBER: Joe, they have never said that. Let's not put -- let's not play the Bush game of lies here.

WATKINS: This is not a time to cut and run, Vic.

KAMBER: Let's not play the Bush game of lies.

WATKINS: Bush is level-headed.

KAMBER: Bush is saying everything is better, and it's not.

WATKINS: No, he's not saying that everything is better. What he's saying is...

KAMBER: Sure he is.

WATKINS: ... that this is not the time to cut and run.

KAMBER: No one's cutting and running.

WATKINS: He has the kind of firm resolve to bring the terrorists to justice.

HEMMER: Leave it there. Giving you a chance.

Let's talk about our next topic on "60 Minutes" and CBS. There are reports that suggest lawsuits may be filed on behalf of Bill Burkett. Those reports are not confirmed just yet. CBS says the producer, Mary Mapes, was wrong to contact the Kerry campaign.

I don't know where we're going to go from here. Ed Koch was on our program, yesterday, a Democratic here in New York, that says the story has a lot of legs and it's not over just yet.

Just -- Joe, why don't you start us off on this one?

WATKINS: Glad to.

HEMMER: What is next on this story?

WATKINS: Well, clearly, Bill, this is such an unfortunate thing. And what all Americans I think are looking for is a fair and balanced media -- a media that doesn't have an obvious bias for or against a candidate.

And CBS did the right thing: They apologized. They said that they were sorry for what happened. And now they've launched an investigation. And the investigation will show us, I suppose, who it was that was at fault here and who talked to the Kerry campaign.

At the same time, Dan Rather did the right thing, as well: He apologized. But it's unfortunate -- it is so unfortunate that a network would go after a candidate for the presidency -- in this case, President Bush.

HEMMER: Victor, where does it go?

KAMBER: Well, I didn't know what network he's talking about when he says a network that goes after a candidate for president. We have one network that's wholly owned by the Republican party. I won't mention them.

WATKINS: I'm talking about CBS, Vic.

KAMBER: I know who you're talking about, but I think we all know there's another network called FOX that this is wholly owned.

I agree with Joe's sentiments, that our airways should be free of bias. But we are human beings, people are there. Kerry had nothing to do with what CBS did. I took a quarter out here...

WATKINS: Let's not...

KAMBER: I took a quarter out here. I'd give it to Joe. I'll give it to you, Bill. I'll give you Dan Rather's phone number. I have it on my Rolodex in the office. You can all call him and find out what happened.

HEMMER: Let's leave it there.

KAMBER: Kerry's people had nothing to do with this.

WATKINS: I'd love to take your money, Vic.

HEMMER: Even if it is just a quarter.

KAMBER: You've got the quarter.

HEMMER: Kamber and Watkins, thank you guys. We'll talk again next week.

Here's Heidi again.

COLLINS: What was supposed to be a routine London to Washington, D.C. flight turned into a travel nightmare for passengers. The plane was diverted to Bangor, Maine, after federal officials discovered one of the passengers was the folk singer formerly known as Cat Stevens. A government official said Yusuf Islam is on a federal watch list because of known associations and financial support to organizations believed to be aiding terrorism. Islam was denied entry into the United States after being questioned. He is being deported to London today.

A missing Florida girl is feared to be on the run with a man who is a registered sex offender. CNN's Eric Philips has a report now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NORA SCHULTHEIS: ... she -- she is so much more mature in the face than that now.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sunday when Nora Schultheis went to check on her sleeping daughter, she discovered Briana was gone. The window was open, and a backpack and personal items were missing.

Surveillance cameras at a Tallahassee bus station show the 12- year-old was there with a man, 30-year-old Raymond Lewis, who used to do odd jobs for the family. More importantly, witnesses tell investigators they saw the pair at the Atlanta Greyhound station around 3:00 Sunday afternoon.

JEFF HOLMES, ATLANTA FBI: Based on some pictures we have seen from the bus station down in Tallahassee and based on some reports from up here, it would appear that she is not being held against her will.

PHILIPS: Lewis and Briana met after he was hired by her father to help around the house. When her mother learned that Lewis was a registered sex offender, she fired him.

HOLMES: I think it was their possible suspicion of what they may have perceived the relationship between their daughter and Lewis to be that caused them to check.

PHILIPS: Authorities say that suspicion may have been prompted by letters between Lewis and Briana. An Amber alert has been issued in both Florida and Georgia, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Briana's whereabouts and Lewis' arrest. Authorities believe the to are still in the Atlanta area. The girl's mother is pleading for her return.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Briana, mama loves you and I miss you. I just want you to come home.

PHILIPS: Eric Philips, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We can understand the woman's anxiety there. Police are still searching, as Eric mentioned, for the two in Atlanta this morning.

HEMMER: About 20 minutes now before the hour.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And you were talking about flights this morning, well, still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business." He'll tell us about a food fight going on at one of the major airlines.

HEMMER: Also Dr. Gupta back with us, talking about food today. When it comes to losing weight, maybe you should think Greek instead of South Beach. Sanjay explains, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We're paging Dr. Gupta this morning about diet, Mediterranean Style. New research suggesting a diet high in fruit, vegetables and moderation is a recipe for good health and long life.

Sanjay is joining us now from the CNN Center with details on this.

So, finally, some good news, like, hey, you can eat this stuff, right?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and it's not bad for you. It tastes pretty good as well. They call it the Mediterranean Diet. It's actually been around for some time. Take a look at some of the various foods that comprise the Mediterranean Diet. This is my desk, by the way, all this food sitting on it. I'm going to tell you about the specifics of this diet in just a moment.

But, Heidi, when we talk about the Mediterranean Diet, it's something that has been around for some time, talking specifically about the nuts, fruits, whole grains, foods like that, but there've been some studies out that show its comparison to some of the other diets and it's beneficial effects potentially on heart disease.

Two studies, coming out of the Journal of the American Medical Association, specifically -- and this one talking about older people, people 70 to 90 years old, finds that it lowers the rate of heart disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer by 50 percent.

Another study actually looking at younger people, people like you and me, Heidi, and they show that it has a lower -- reduces the effect of metabolic syndrome by about half as well. So some good news there on the Mediterranean Diet -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, good news on our age. I'll take that younger reference every time.

So tell me, though, Sanjay, what is metabolic syndrome?

GUPTA: Well, metabolic syndrome is something that a lot of people are starting to use as a gauge who for who is likely to develop conditions like heart disease, diabetes, perhaps even certain types of cancer later in life. It's made up of several different factors. Some of them are obvious, being overweight for example, low evil levels of the good kind of cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high levels of something known as C-reactive protein. This is something you can find on a blood test. If you have two or three of these, doctor are going to be a little bit more concerned about whether or not you may develop significant heart disease later in life.

Again, what they're showing with the study now out of the Journal of the American Medical Association is that you can reduce the likelihood of that by about half by using the Mediterranean Diet.

COLLINS: I've got to be honest. I haven't eaten a lot of Mediterranean foods, but we already mentioned fruits and vegetables. What exactly are we talking about here?

GUPTA: You know, Heidi, there are sixteen countries that border the Mediterranean Seam, so there's all sorts of different combinations of a Mediterranean Diet, but what most people think of -- we're going to show you the foods here specifically. First of all, you're not going to sea red meat. You're not going to see regular milk. What you're going to see food like chicken, that you there, salmon, lots of fishes, you're going to see on the list as well. You're going to see The fruits and vegetables, lots of nuts, as well.

A lot of these diets are focused on nonsaturated fats, unsaturated fats, olive oil as well you see here. Wine, everybody loves a little Vino, although maybe not this early in the morning, some whole grain bread, fetta cheese. You'll see yogurt, so you'll get your daily products there, but again, you're not going to see milk.

Typically, again, with a diet like this, very low in saturated fat, high in unsaturated fats, it's not a new idea. They call it the Mediterranean Diet. If you eat it, they say, you may lose weight and lower your risk of heart disease -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, some great stuff to think about there, Sanjay. And I know you have a -- the start of a series tomorrow. Tell us a little bit about that.

GUPTA: Yes, you remember Soledad O'Brien. We haven't seen her in a while. Well, we're going to check in on Soledad. She has four children at home now. She just had twins as many of us know. And we talk about Soledad. We're going check in on her, and also get some advice from moms who have been taking care of multiples, see how they do it, present that to you tomorrow. It's called "Crowded House," every Thursday for a few weeks -- Heidi.

COLLINS: "Crowded House," better than burning down the house, huh?

Sanjay, thanks so much.

In a moment here, going to move away from olive oil to milk. Seems some fast food restaurants looking at a vitamin D mystery and so will we after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back. The microphone wasn't on; now it is.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Are we all set?

HEMMER: It's all yours.

CAFFERTY: Here we go.

There was a food fight between Delta and its caterer. Andy Serwer, who is really impressed at the rousing start his segment gets off to here, is "Minding Your Business" with more on this and a market preview.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: We're charging ahead. All right, listen, I'll take it from here.

CAFFERTY: Fine.

SERWER: If you are flying delta airlines today, you may want to bring a sandwich, because Delta may not have any food. It's in a dispute with its caterer, are a company called Gate Gourmet, and they are not loading any food on the planes. Last night, Delta was busy stuffing all the food it could on its planes, because they knew this was coming. This morning's CNN's Mike Brooks reporting that Delta is filing an injunction against Gate -- does the news get any worse for these people?

CAFFERTY: Can I ask you a question, why is it bad news that you may be unable to get airline food on one of the major airlines soon? Why is that seen a negative?

SERWER: I think a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than anything they serve.

CAFFERTY: Yes, I mean, I would think that might be a positive.

SERWER: I mean, let's start the trend here, get rid of all the food.

CAFFERTY: Gate Gourmet?

SERWER: Gate not.

Let's talk more about food. Sales of milk at fast food restaurants going through the roof. It's unbelievable. Since July, Wendy's reporting milk sales up 15 fold, 15 times. At McDonald's, it doubled since May. There's a story in "The Wall Street Journal." Why? It's all about packaging. They are no longer serving milk in those old school cardboard boxes. They're serving milk in these nifty little containers here.

CAFFERTY: Those are pretty cool.

SERWER: This is nothing compared to Sanjay's little cornucopia. I feed a little inadequate here. But look at this. This is serious stuff. And of course, right here, that's got sugar in it, because that's chocolate milk. But kids are going nuts.

I know, that's always a great compromise for parent, you going to have milk or chocolate milk? These things are just -- they're just flying.

And we should talk a little bit about the markets.

CAFFERTY: Why don't we?

SERWER: Well, let's do that. We reported earlier this morning, Interstate Bakeries, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, filing for bankruptcy this morning. Low-carb craze hurting them.

Look at this, making those Twinkies, making that bread. That's Wonderbread right there.

That's Wonder Bread right there. And so that stock is down 60 percent in premarket trading. So we watch that stock.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Andy.

Here we go, time for "The Cafferty File." Wednesday, things people say, beginning with, "Look what they tried to do to Richard Clarke. Look what they did to Paul O'Neill. If they don't like the message they beat up on the messenger." This is Kitty Kelley, whining about her new book on the Bush family, which has been criticized for being sensational. Just make the bank deposits, Kitty, OK?

"I didn't know we had to call him 'Mr. President.' We were introduced, and said, 'Hi George, what's up?' He seemed fine with that, I think."

This is some idiot named Joss Stone, an up and coming, I am told, British pop singer. I have no firsthand knowledge of what she actually does, besides be rude to the nation's chief executives. This is when she met George Bush.

SERWER: She's a good singer.

CAFFERTY: I wonder if she calls the queen "Betsy" over there.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Here we go with the Teresa Kerry thing: "Clothing is wonderful, but let them go naked for a while, at least the kids." This is Mrs. John Kerry advising Hurricane relief workers to send food and water before clothes. Earlier I didn't explain the whole think because it was just a tease. We just teased, just do a little bit. It was just -- people writing in, you're such a terrible human being.

SERWER: That's for real, though.

CAFFERTY: That's for real. She's not helping. Here's another one, "My super-long toes. My family called me French Fry toes. My friends call me monkey toes, because they think I can hold on to a branch," Actress Cheryl Hines when asked what body part would you change. This is an interview in "People" magazine. I'd like to see a picture of her feet actually.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And to the same question in the same magazine, my favorite quote of the month, maybe the year, Cybill Shepherd said, "I'm afraid to start plastic surgery, and my breasts are so versatile now, I can wear them down, up or side to side." All right, Cybill.

SERWER: Versatility. Yes, versatility is big in Hollywood.

HEMMER: Dexterity.

Thank you, Jack.

HEMMER: Get a break here in a moment. Back live to the Pentagon. New information today regarding the reported release of a top scientist from the former regime of Saddam Hussein. What's happening there we'll check it out. Back in a moment, after this.

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