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American Morning
Democrats Protesting Sinclair Group's Anti-Kerry Film; Will Reeve's Death Have an Effect on the Election?; Seasonale -- New Form of Birth Control
Aired October 12, 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: Opening bell from Wall Street on a Tuesday morning. Starting today at 10,081, up about 26 points in trading yesterday.
Watch oil again today. Andy informed us earlier, above 54 bucks a barrel now. We'll see the impact, if any, today. Nasdaq MarketSite 1,928, up about nine points yesterday in trading. Still below the 2,000 mark. we'll see where we go today.
Good morning. Welcome back. Stocks open for business.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
We've been talking all morning now about a controversial plan by the Sinclair Broadcast Group to air a documentary critical of John Kerry on its 62 TV stations. In a few minutes, we'll get Sinclair's side of the story -- an executive answering the question of whether the company is biased for Republicans.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, the man who sneaked his own phone number into the Crate and Barrel fall catalog. There it is on the right-hand side on that armoire. He has now discovered a dating gold mine.
COLLINS: You bet he has.
HEMMER: He also has a few other publicity stunts, too, that he's pulling off out in San Francisco, so...
COLLINS: Very clever. I like it.
HEMMER: Yes, he is. We'll get to him in this hour.
COLLINS: We are going to check the stories now in the news, though, at this time. Kelly Wallace is here to do just that. Kelly, good morning, again.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi. Good morning, Bill. Good morning, everyone.
Beginning again in Iraq, where U.S. forces launching a new air strike on the rebel-held city of Fallujah. Military forces say the strikes destroyed a suspected safehouse and a center believed to be a meeting place for backers of terror militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Pentagon says six key Zarqawi lieutenants have been killed in recent weeks, but Zarqawi remains at large.
Chiron Corporation, the company linked to the shortage of the flu vaccine, is being called to court. Chiron has received a federal grand jury subpoena about problems with the drug. The company says it intends to cooperate fully with the probe. Chiron's flu vaccine was pulled from the market last week due to concerns over possible contamination.
New developments today in the World Trade Center insurance trial. Jury selection will begin today in the case that will determine how much insurance money will go to the leaseholder of the area we all know as Ground Zero. He could collect more than $1 billion from insurers.
And a quick check on the campaign trail. The president will speak at a rally with supporters in Colorado. He will then head to Phoenix to prep for tomorrow's debate. Senator Kerry will start the day in New Mexico before heading to Arizona for the final meeting in Tempe. Must-see TV once again tomorrow night.
HEMMER: Yes, must see, indeed. I wonder how many people are going to watch, too? Because there was a big dropoff between number one and number two.
WALLACE: And we were just talking baseball to compete with tomorrow night.
HEMMER: That's exactly right.
COLLINS: Once again, yes.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks for that.
Democrats crying foul today over the decision by Sinclair Broadcasting to run a documentary attacking John Kerry on its stations just before the election. Question this morning: Is this news, or is it just propaganda?
Mark Hyman is the vice president for corporate relations with Sinclair. I talked to him last hour on AMERICAN MORNING about this very topic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Democrats are fuming about this issue. Listen to Terry McAuliffe from last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: This is a clear partisan attack on Senator Kerry. And they offer the opportunity for Senator Kerry to come on after the 90 minutes and talk.
Now, we'd be interested if they would give us 90 minutes of primetime, also. But understand, Bill, they are preempting all of their shows a week before the election to do a 90-minute attack on Senator Kerry.
HEMMER: Democrats say this is illegal. Clearly, you do not. Why not?
MARK HYMAN, SINCLAIR MEDIA GROUP: Well, a couple of issues. First of all, we haven't even looked at a 90-minute program. But if John Kerry wants to spend 45 minutes or an hour with us, maybe we'd have a 90-minute program. Again, no formal format has been decided upon.
However, the accusations coming from Terry McAuliffe and others, is it because there's some elements of this that may reflect poorly on John Kerry unkindly? That it's somehow an in-kind contribution of George Bush?
If you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be considered an in-kind contribution to John Kerry. Weak job performance ratings that came out last month would have been an in-kind contribution to John Kerry.
And that's just nonsense. This is news. I can't change the fact that these people decided to come forward today. The networks had this opportunity over a month ago to speak with these people. They chose to suppress them. They chose to ignore them. They're acting like Holocaust deniers, pretending these people don't exist.
HEMMER: Mark, let me try and cut through this is a little bit. Is there a bias at Sinclair against John Kerry?
HYMAN: Why would you say that? Because we're presenting a side that...
HEMMER: I'm just asking it. Is there, or not?
HYMAN: I certainly hope not. There shouldn't be. There are going to be people who are going to want to get this story out. We want to get this story out.
I think the question should be asked of the networks why aren't they talking about this issue? Probably perhaps more importantly, why won't John Kerry speak with these Vietnam POWs? He has been avoiding them for 31 years. If he's afraid of a bunch of 60 and 70-year-old men who were wounded and tortured in Vietnam, what does it say about his ability to respond to al Qaeda if they were to attack the U.S. if he were serving as president?
If he's afraid of Americans -- you know, what's the story here? Why can't he sit down and speak with these Americans...
HEMMER: The reason...
HYMAN: ... who deserve to have their voices heard?
HEMMER: The reason I ask the question about bias, why not allow the individual stations to make up their own mind on this?
HYMAN: Because you know better, Bill. And don't be absurd about this whole thing. Just like Sears tells all of its stores, "You will sell Craftsman tools." McDonald's tells all of its restaurants, "You will have a sesame seed bun." That's the business we're in.
We make programming decisions on a day-to-day basis. We sell advertising on a day-to-day basis. This is the way networks operate. This is the way all television stations operate. This is the way most businesses operate when you have a number of affiliates or a number of franchises. It's the way the business operates.
To suggest that our TV stations are all simply stand-alone franchises and the local general manager can make any decision he wants about the program he carries is actually factually incorrect. Because CBS News has -- rather the CBS Network, as an example, makes certain all of its stations carry CBS programming, not ABC's "The Bachelor."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Mark Hyman from Sinclair earlier today.
A couple of dates to keep in mind here: nine days away from the official airing of this on the 21st of October. It will begin running through the 24th of October.
And today we're exactly three weeks away from election 2004. With that as a backdrop, the third and final debate goes down tomorrow night in Tempe, Arizona. Our primetime coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern time right here on CNN.
Heidi now with more.
COLLINS: Christopher Reeve became one of the most visible and vocal advocates for federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. The issue is a controversial one, but it's gotten some attention in the presidential campaign. But will Reeve's death make it a bigger issue?
National correspondent Kelly Wallace is joining me now. And boy, it's tough -- that dance between those issues and something like this.
WALLACE: Right. We've been saying it's tough to talk about politics after the death of Christopher Reeve. But both sides think his death will elevate the issue, at least right now.
Who stands to gain? The answer -- not entirely clear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): In life...
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: It's our prerogative to push.
WALLACE: ... and now in death, the actor turned crusader helped make embryonic stem-cell research a national issue.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that if we put our minds to it, one day we're going to realize Chris' inevitable dream, and that's our mission for all of us. WALLACE: An emotional John Kerry said Reeve left him a message Saturday, the day after the second presidential debate when the senator cited his friend by name.
KERRY: ... and I want him to walk again. I think we can save lives.
WALLACE: President Bush sharply defended his decision to allow federal research only on embryonic stem-cell lines that already exist.
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... to destroy life to save life is -- is one of the real ethical dilemmas that we face.
WALLACE: In a written statement yesterday, the president said Reeve "was brave in the face of adversity, and will be remembered for his dedicated advocacy for those with physical disabilities."
Even before Reeve's death, Democrats viewed the stem-cell debate as a political winner, running ads featuring actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's.
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: I say lives are at stake, and it's time for leadership.
WALLACE: A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll released yesterday and conducted before Reeve died found 55 percent backing more expansive federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, 38 percent supporting the current restrictions or no funding at all.
Political observers say the renewed attention could sway uncommitted voters.
VAUGHN VERVERS, "NATIONAL JOURNAL": I think Kerry stands to benefit more from this than Bush because of those swing voters who might come over to his side because of this issue or partly because of this issue.
WALLACE: But the new focus could also help President Bush.
VERVERS: Nothing motivates the base voters in the Republican party more than things like abortion, embryonic stem-cell research.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (on camera): And the reason that is very significant is because part of the Republican strategy in this presidential campaign, Heidi, trying to motivate the some four million evangelical Christians who didn't vote in 2000 to vote again or to vote this year in 2004.
COLLINS: Yeah, it is such a tough issue talking about that delicate balance -- or dance, if you will -- about somebody who's just died and then something that they stood for. So, as a politician, do you run the risk of offending the voters who say, "Oh, I can't believe you're using this as a political issue?" WALLACE: Well, this is what observers think is sort of the difficulty for Senator Kerry. If he sort of evokes Christopher Reeve's name, he has to do it sort of delicately and gracefully. If voters think he's sort of putting it out there to try and politicize the issue, to use his death in some way as a political tool, he could be hurt. And he is contemplating going to Christopher Reeve's funeral.
So, again, he has to sort of walk that fine line about honoring his friend -- he knows him quite well -- and moving on with the issue at the same time.
COLLINS: All right, Kelly Wallace, thank you so much.
WALLACE: Sure.
COLLINS: Bill?
HEMMER: Almost 20 minutes before the hour now. In the American west, high winds and dry conditions again, hampering the efforts to put out this wildfire in northern California. The blaze is near the town of Rumsey, about 75 miles northeast of Napa. It's burned about 4,000 acres to date, and firefighters battling the flames by the air and ground.
Luckily no homes or businesses believed to be threatened. But it is dry in the American west, and Chad knows that all too well.
Good morning, check of the weather now. How are you?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Chad, thank you.
A new form of birth control is fast becoming the contraceptive of choice for women. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us again now from the CNN Center with details. Sanjay, what about this?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, gynecologists are calling this the hottest thing around, Heidi.
Seasonale, that's the name of a new form of birth control pill. It's also got a brand-new marketing ad, as well. It is already being seen in some cities around the country.
The whole premise is this, that you can take a new form of birth control pill to have fewer periods. Take a look at some of the commercial ads here. I don't know if we have them or not, but essentially the commercial ad shows a woman -- there you see it there -- actually spinning around. She's losing a bunch of dots off of her dress. The point is this, that she's going to have fewer periods.
It's become very popular in magazine ads, this television ad. "TIME" magazine even called it one of the best new inventions of last year. Not having monthly periods clearly seems to be hitting a nerve with many women. In reality, what it is is basically just similar to an existing birth control pill. What's different about Seasonale is the dosing regimen. Typically, what happens with birth control pills is 21 days of birth control pill and then a placebo for seven days. With Seasonale, you actually take the birth control pills for 84 days, and then the placebo for seven days. They cut down the number of periods a year from 13 to four, Heidi.
COLLINS: But when you alter that cycle, Sanjay, how safe is that? And then, couldn't you just take your regular birth control pills all the way through? Wouldn't that be the same?
GUPTA: Yeah, yeah. The answer to both of those questions really is yes. It actually is safe to go ahead and do this. We've talked to gynecologists about this. They say that it's actually perfectly fine to suppress your periods, to go ahead and have four. It doesn't seem to lead to any increased health risks, which is a question a lot of women have.
Also, the second question, yes you can also just take your existing birth control pills. Again, we talked to a gynecologist about this who said a lot of gynecologists are actually talking to their patients -- their women patients about doing that, actually just going ahead and taking the birth control pills for 84 days, for example, in a row, instead of 21 days, and then just having four periods a year.
So, I think it's something that may catch on here, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Sanjay, thanks so much for that.
But before we go -- before you go, our viewers want to improve their overall health, you know. They may want to join you and us in this year's "New You Revolution." We changed the name, we know that much. But viewers are still wanting to know how they can get involved.
GUPTA: Yeah, it was really popular last year. We're going to do it again. Breaking bad health habits: That's the focus of this year's "New You Revolution."
The question is this: Are you in a desperate battle with weight or struggling with any other health issue? And are you ready to make the commitment to get fit, stay healthy, and live your life to the fullest?
Well, if you'd like to be a part of CNN's "New You Revolution," go to cnn.com/am. We're going to find women, men, families, and singles. No one is excluded. And I'll tell you this, Heidi, already thousands of applications coming in.
COLLINS: Really?
GUPTA: Trying to sort through them. Really good stuff, Heidi.
COLLINS: How do you pick? GUPTA: Well, we're looking for people who we think, you know, have the most to benefit from something like this. We read their profiles. We read their health history. Then we're going to pick a few people who resemble America, really, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. That representative sample we're looking for. Sanjay, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: And make sure you watch CNN's AMERICAN MORNING during the month of November to see who will be selected for the eight-week get-fit journey with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The series is going to air every Tuesday beginning in January.
HEMMER: In a moment, 15 minutes before the hour. A major airline on the brink of extension got a new lease on life, and that's good news for the flying public. Andy's back in a moment with news on that.
COLLINS: Plus, how one man put one over on Crate and Barrel -- maybe some girls, too. And he used the store's catalog to places a secret, personal ad. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING. We'll tell you about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: When it comes to dating, Marc Horowitz has no use for the personals. The bachelor's phone has not stopped ringing since he pulled a stunt that was a bit off the hook. Marc managed to sneak his telephone number, his own number, into the Crate and Barrel fall catalog. And it's paid off in spades.
Marc Horowitz, my guest here in New York, to talk about it. Good morning.
MARC HOROWITZ, CRATE & BARREL BACHELOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Paid off in spades?
HOROWITZ: Yeah.
HEMMER: How many people have called you?
HOROWITZ: There's -- well, initially, you know, I had got the first call from Jake in Overland, Kansas. And then, from there, about 100 people called from around the country.
HEMMER: What was your intent?
HOROWITZ: My intent...
HEMMER: To get dates?
HOROWITZ: No, it wasn't to get dates. My intent was to just have a forum for these people who call in to the catalog to go to. They would call in and say, "Hey, is that Lichtenstein book -- does that come with that couch?" You know, "Is that basket really blurry" -- you know if it was out of focus or something like that.
So, the intent was just to give these people a place to go to and to see who would call.
HEMMER: What was the reaction on your answering machine? Are you getting calls all the time?
HOROWITZ: Now I am, yes. I mean, then it was picked up by, you know, an independent Web site. And then, I started getting hundreds of calls.
HEMMER: Hundreds of calls. How do you select which ones, by the way?
HOROWITZ: Well, I just -- I'm choosing the original people that called. And so, I cut it off as soon as that Web site picked it up. So, there were 70 dates to that date.
HEMMER: And you have a truck, right?
HOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: And you're driving around the country, meeting up with these people?
HOROWITZ: That's it.
HEMMER: Where?
HOROWITZ: I'm just making passes. I'm going to go the northern route first and then go all the way -- my furthest north is Portland, Maine. And then, I'm going to come back down and then go across and then back down like this.
HEMMER: Well, listen, Crate and Barrel had a bit of a comment to make about you.
They said, "He's lucky he did it in a catalog for a company with a sense of humor. He ought to buy us all dinner. Since he put his own number in there, he's responsible for his own actions. I don't see how Crate and Barrel can be responsible for a bad date."
Fair assessment.
HOROWITZ: That's fair enough.
HEMMER: Back up just a little bit. How did you get the number in the catalog?
HOROWITZ: So, what I did is I was working as a photographer, and I went to four cities, and my first stop was Chicago. And we were working on the catalog, and there was an opportunity to write something on this dry erase board. They wanted it to look real, so they put "Furniture Delivery 10:30." Then they wanted to put a number down there -- you know, "Call Ted for a doctor's appointment" or something.
So, I said no, no, no. I was doing the dinner tour at that time in those cities, and so I figured it would be a great extension of that. So, I wrote, you know, the number on the dry erase board in hopes that people would start calling.
HEMMER: Good luck to you, all right?
HOROWITZ: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Are you going back to Crate and Barrel?
HOROWITZ: We'll see.
HEMMER: Think they'd have you back?
HOROWITZ: I hope so.
HEMMER: Nice to see you, Marc.
HOROWITZ: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Good luck to you.
HOROWITZ: All right.
HEMMER: Back to you.
COLLINS: Still to come: A struggling airline gets some help to avoid going under -- for now. But how much longer can it survive? Andy Serwer's "minding Your Business" on that, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, the markets are open, so we want to get a check of those. And US Airways gets another life preserver -- at least for now. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" on all of these things. Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: They'd have a reprieve -- good morning, Heidi -- for US Air.
Let's check the markets first -- not a pretty picture: 51 points down on the Dow. Earnings season has begun in earnest, and Merrill Lynch and Johnson & Johnson have reported numbers. No surprises there, those stocks are not really moving much.
Let's talk about US Air. Reached an agreement with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, so they will continue flying through mid-January. That's the good news. What it does mean, though, is that in February, we may be looking at liquidation.
Here are some numbers: $6.5 billion -- that's what the airline industry could lose this year; fuel costs for the airline industry up 135 percent. Now $1.60 a gallon; '99 it was 68 cents a gallon. Can you imagine that? American Airlines and United Airlines saying they'll spend $1 billion each on fuel. Every one penny increase in jet fuel translates to another $180 million of expenses for the airlines.
COLLINS: I don't think people realize, you know, when you park airplanes how much money that costs the airline.
SERWER: Right.
COLLINS: And just in fuel costs alone.
SERWER: When they're sitting there and not being used, it's bad. And then, flying them -- these companies were in such trouble now. But now with the price of oil $10 higher than it was just this spring, it's real trouble.
COLLINS: All right, Andy, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: "Question of the Day," back to Jack on that.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You know, earlier we got a letter from a woman who lives in Gas City, Indiana.
HEMMER: That's correct.
CAFFERTY: That's the best town name ever in all of the...
SERWER: And all of Indiana.
CAFFERTY: Gas city. Wonder what they serve at the diner.
COLLINS: Rolaids.
CAFFERTY: Is the United States safer or more vulnerable as a result of going to war with Iraq -- is the question. The answers are as follows.
Michael in Quincy, Illinois: "We're fighting terrorists in Iraq, not the streets of America. Has everyone forgot those two tall buildings that were full of people and used to stand in New York City? The terrorists are congregating in Iraq, and that's a great place to confront them and serve them up a stern measure of justice."
Ryan in Tampa write: "The answer to your question is yes, we're much safer because Saddam is out of power. The Duelfer Report shows us that Saddam clearly succeeded in buying our allies and nearly achieved his goal of lifting the sanctions. He could have had WMD within a couple of months had this occurred."
Charles in Miami, Florida, writes: "If we had one Osama bin Laden to deal with then, now we have tens of thousands of potential Osama bin Ladens."
HEMMER: Good question. Three weeks away from today. A reminder to our viewers at home, get ready, because Soledad's coming back on Monday. And we're all going to Chicago. AMERICAN MORNING on the road starting Monday in the Windy City. We'll be live in all the major landmarks there in Chicago -- and some great ones, too, all over that town, really. We'll talk with the key artists in that town, the key political leaders.
Also, on the heels of election campaign 2004, what's important in Illinois? We'll check that out all week long next week in Chicago. Back in a moment here after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Later tonight, Aaron Brown comes your way on "NEWSNIGHT" -- 12 hours and counting, as a matter of fact. Quick preview now. Here is Aaron.
AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": Thank you, Bill.
Tonight on the program, Canada's al Qaeda problem, Muslim immigrants intent on waging jihad. How are they nurtured? How are they recruited? And what is the Canadian government doing about it?
We'll have that story, plus all the day's news, "Morning Papers," and, oh, everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT" "NEWSNIGHT." CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill?
HEMMER: Aaron, thanks for that. See you in about 12 hours.
We've got to run. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center. Same time, same place tomorrow.
How are you, Daryn? Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Looking good. You guys have a great day in New York City.
HEMMER: You, the same.
COLLINS: Thanks, Daryn.
KAGAN: We will get started -- sure. From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 12, 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: Opening bell from Wall Street on a Tuesday morning. Starting today at 10,081, up about 26 points in trading yesterday.
Watch oil again today. Andy informed us earlier, above 54 bucks a barrel now. We'll see the impact, if any, today. Nasdaq MarketSite 1,928, up about nine points yesterday in trading. Still below the 2,000 mark. we'll see where we go today.
Good morning. Welcome back. Stocks open for business.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
We've been talking all morning now about a controversial plan by the Sinclair Broadcast Group to air a documentary critical of John Kerry on its 62 TV stations. In a few minutes, we'll get Sinclair's side of the story -- an executive answering the question of whether the company is biased for Republicans.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, the man who sneaked his own phone number into the Crate and Barrel fall catalog. There it is on the right-hand side on that armoire. He has now discovered a dating gold mine.
COLLINS: You bet he has.
HEMMER: He also has a few other publicity stunts, too, that he's pulling off out in San Francisco, so...
COLLINS: Very clever. I like it.
HEMMER: Yes, he is. We'll get to him in this hour.
COLLINS: We are going to check the stories now in the news, though, at this time. Kelly Wallace is here to do just that. Kelly, good morning, again.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi. Good morning, Bill. Good morning, everyone.
Beginning again in Iraq, where U.S. forces launching a new air strike on the rebel-held city of Fallujah. Military forces say the strikes destroyed a suspected safehouse and a center believed to be a meeting place for backers of terror militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Pentagon says six key Zarqawi lieutenants have been killed in recent weeks, but Zarqawi remains at large.
Chiron Corporation, the company linked to the shortage of the flu vaccine, is being called to court. Chiron has received a federal grand jury subpoena about problems with the drug. The company says it intends to cooperate fully with the probe. Chiron's flu vaccine was pulled from the market last week due to concerns over possible contamination.
New developments today in the World Trade Center insurance trial. Jury selection will begin today in the case that will determine how much insurance money will go to the leaseholder of the area we all know as Ground Zero. He could collect more than $1 billion from insurers.
And a quick check on the campaign trail. The president will speak at a rally with supporters in Colorado. He will then head to Phoenix to prep for tomorrow's debate. Senator Kerry will start the day in New Mexico before heading to Arizona for the final meeting in Tempe. Must-see TV once again tomorrow night.
HEMMER: Yes, must see, indeed. I wonder how many people are going to watch, too? Because there was a big dropoff between number one and number two.
WALLACE: And we were just talking baseball to compete with tomorrow night.
HEMMER: That's exactly right.
COLLINS: Once again, yes.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks for that.
Democrats crying foul today over the decision by Sinclair Broadcasting to run a documentary attacking John Kerry on its stations just before the election. Question this morning: Is this news, or is it just propaganda?
Mark Hyman is the vice president for corporate relations with Sinclair. I talked to him last hour on AMERICAN MORNING about this very topic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Democrats are fuming about this issue. Listen to Terry McAuliffe from last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: This is a clear partisan attack on Senator Kerry. And they offer the opportunity for Senator Kerry to come on after the 90 minutes and talk.
Now, we'd be interested if they would give us 90 minutes of primetime, also. But understand, Bill, they are preempting all of their shows a week before the election to do a 90-minute attack on Senator Kerry.
HEMMER: Democrats say this is illegal. Clearly, you do not. Why not?
MARK HYMAN, SINCLAIR MEDIA GROUP: Well, a couple of issues. First of all, we haven't even looked at a 90-minute program. But if John Kerry wants to spend 45 minutes or an hour with us, maybe we'd have a 90-minute program. Again, no formal format has been decided upon.
However, the accusations coming from Terry McAuliffe and others, is it because there's some elements of this that may reflect poorly on John Kerry unkindly? That it's somehow an in-kind contribution of George Bush?
If you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be considered an in-kind contribution to John Kerry. Weak job performance ratings that came out last month would have been an in-kind contribution to John Kerry.
And that's just nonsense. This is news. I can't change the fact that these people decided to come forward today. The networks had this opportunity over a month ago to speak with these people. They chose to suppress them. They chose to ignore them. They're acting like Holocaust deniers, pretending these people don't exist.
HEMMER: Mark, let me try and cut through this is a little bit. Is there a bias at Sinclair against John Kerry?
HYMAN: Why would you say that? Because we're presenting a side that...
HEMMER: I'm just asking it. Is there, or not?
HYMAN: I certainly hope not. There shouldn't be. There are going to be people who are going to want to get this story out. We want to get this story out.
I think the question should be asked of the networks why aren't they talking about this issue? Probably perhaps more importantly, why won't John Kerry speak with these Vietnam POWs? He has been avoiding them for 31 years. If he's afraid of a bunch of 60 and 70-year-old men who were wounded and tortured in Vietnam, what does it say about his ability to respond to al Qaeda if they were to attack the U.S. if he were serving as president?
If he's afraid of Americans -- you know, what's the story here? Why can't he sit down and speak with these Americans...
HEMMER: The reason...
HYMAN: ... who deserve to have their voices heard?
HEMMER: The reason I ask the question about bias, why not allow the individual stations to make up their own mind on this?
HYMAN: Because you know better, Bill. And don't be absurd about this whole thing. Just like Sears tells all of its stores, "You will sell Craftsman tools." McDonald's tells all of its restaurants, "You will have a sesame seed bun." That's the business we're in.
We make programming decisions on a day-to-day basis. We sell advertising on a day-to-day basis. This is the way networks operate. This is the way all television stations operate. This is the way most businesses operate when you have a number of affiliates or a number of franchises. It's the way the business operates.
To suggest that our TV stations are all simply stand-alone franchises and the local general manager can make any decision he wants about the program he carries is actually factually incorrect. Because CBS News has -- rather the CBS Network, as an example, makes certain all of its stations carry CBS programming, not ABC's "The Bachelor."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Mark Hyman from Sinclair earlier today.
A couple of dates to keep in mind here: nine days away from the official airing of this on the 21st of October. It will begin running through the 24th of October.
And today we're exactly three weeks away from election 2004. With that as a backdrop, the third and final debate goes down tomorrow night in Tempe, Arizona. Our primetime coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern time right here on CNN.
Heidi now with more.
COLLINS: Christopher Reeve became one of the most visible and vocal advocates for federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. The issue is a controversial one, but it's gotten some attention in the presidential campaign. But will Reeve's death make it a bigger issue?
National correspondent Kelly Wallace is joining me now. And boy, it's tough -- that dance between those issues and something like this.
WALLACE: Right. We've been saying it's tough to talk about politics after the death of Christopher Reeve. But both sides think his death will elevate the issue, at least right now.
Who stands to gain? The answer -- not entirely clear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): In life...
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: It's our prerogative to push.
WALLACE: ... and now in death, the actor turned crusader helped make embryonic stem-cell research a national issue.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that if we put our minds to it, one day we're going to realize Chris' inevitable dream, and that's our mission for all of us. WALLACE: An emotional John Kerry said Reeve left him a message Saturday, the day after the second presidential debate when the senator cited his friend by name.
KERRY: ... and I want him to walk again. I think we can save lives.
WALLACE: President Bush sharply defended his decision to allow federal research only on embryonic stem-cell lines that already exist.
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... to destroy life to save life is -- is one of the real ethical dilemmas that we face.
WALLACE: In a written statement yesterday, the president said Reeve "was brave in the face of adversity, and will be remembered for his dedicated advocacy for those with physical disabilities."
Even before Reeve's death, Democrats viewed the stem-cell debate as a political winner, running ads featuring actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's.
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: I say lives are at stake, and it's time for leadership.
WALLACE: A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll released yesterday and conducted before Reeve died found 55 percent backing more expansive federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, 38 percent supporting the current restrictions or no funding at all.
Political observers say the renewed attention could sway uncommitted voters.
VAUGHN VERVERS, "NATIONAL JOURNAL": I think Kerry stands to benefit more from this than Bush because of those swing voters who might come over to his side because of this issue or partly because of this issue.
WALLACE: But the new focus could also help President Bush.
VERVERS: Nothing motivates the base voters in the Republican party more than things like abortion, embryonic stem-cell research.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (on camera): And the reason that is very significant is because part of the Republican strategy in this presidential campaign, Heidi, trying to motivate the some four million evangelical Christians who didn't vote in 2000 to vote again or to vote this year in 2004.
COLLINS: Yeah, it is such a tough issue talking about that delicate balance -- or dance, if you will -- about somebody who's just died and then something that they stood for. So, as a politician, do you run the risk of offending the voters who say, "Oh, I can't believe you're using this as a political issue?" WALLACE: Well, this is what observers think is sort of the difficulty for Senator Kerry. If he sort of evokes Christopher Reeve's name, he has to do it sort of delicately and gracefully. If voters think he's sort of putting it out there to try and politicize the issue, to use his death in some way as a political tool, he could be hurt. And he is contemplating going to Christopher Reeve's funeral.
So, again, he has to sort of walk that fine line about honoring his friend -- he knows him quite well -- and moving on with the issue at the same time.
COLLINS: All right, Kelly Wallace, thank you so much.
WALLACE: Sure.
COLLINS: Bill?
HEMMER: Almost 20 minutes before the hour now. In the American west, high winds and dry conditions again, hampering the efforts to put out this wildfire in northern California. The blaze is near the town of Rumsey, about 75 miles northeast of Napa. It's burned about 4,000 acres to date, and firefighters battling the flames by the air and ground.
Luckily no homes or businesses believed to be threatened. But it is dry in the American west, and Chad knows that all too well.
Good morning, check of the weather now. How are you?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Chad, thank you.
A new form of birth control is fast becoming the contraceptive of choice for women. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us again now from the CNN Center with details. Sanjay, what about this?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, gynecologists are calling this the hottest thing around, Heidi.
Seasonale, that's the name of a new form of birth control pill. It's also got a brand-new marketing ad, as well. It is already being seen in some cities around the country.
The whole premise is this, that you can take a new form of birth control pill to have fewer periods. Take a look at some of the commercial ads here. I don't know if we have them or not, but essentially the commercial ad shows a woman -- there you see it there -- actually spinning around. She's losing a bunch of dots off of her dress. The point is this, that she's going to have fewer periods.
It's become very popular in magazine ads, this television ad. "TIME" magazine even called it one of the best new inventions of last year. Not having monthly periods clearly seems to be hitting a nerve with many women. In reality, what it is is basically just similar to an existing birth control pill. What's different about Seasonale is the dosing regimen. Typically, what happens with birth control pills is 21 days of birth control pill and then a placebo for seven days. With Seasonale, you actually take the birth control pills for 84 days, and then the placebo for seven days. They cut down the number of periods a year from 13 to four, Heidi.
COLLINS: But when you alter that cycle, Sanjay, how safe is that? And then, couldn't you just take your regular birth control pills all the way through? Wouldn't that be the same?
GUPTA: Yeah, yeah. The answer to both of those questions really is yes. It actually is safe to go ahead and do this. We've talked to gynecologists about this. They say that it's actually perfectly fine to suppress your periods, to go ahead and have four. It doesn't seem to lead to any increased health risks, which is a question a lot of women have.
Also, the second question, yes you can also just take your existing birth control pills. Again, we talked to a gynecologist about this who said a lot of gynecologists are actually talking to their patients -- their women patients about doing that, actually just going ahead and taking the birth control pills for 84 days, for example, in a row, instead of 21 days, and then just having four periods a year.
So, I think it's something that may catch on here, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Sanjay, thanks so much for that.
But before we go -- before you go, our viewers want to improve their overall health, you know. They may want to join you and us in this year's "New You Revolution." We changed the name, we know that much. But viewers are still wanting to know how they can get involved.
GUPTA: Yeah, it was really popular last year. We're going to do it again. Breaking bad health habits: That's the focus of this year's "New You Revolution."
The question is this: Are you in a desperate battle with weight or struggling with any other health issue? And are you ready to make the commitment to get fit, stay healthy, and live your life to the fullest?
Well, if you'd like to be a part of CNN's "New You Revolution," go to cnn.com/am. We're going to find women, men, families, and singles. No one is excluded. And I'll tell you this, Heidi, already thousands of applications coming in.
COLLINS: Really?
GUPTA: Trying to sort through them. Really good stuff, Heidi.
COLLINS: How do you pick? GUPTA: Well, we're looking for people who we think, you know, have the most to benefit from something like this. We read their profiles. We read their health history. Then we're going to pick a few people who resemble America, really, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. That representative sample we're looking for. Sanjay, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: And make sure you watch CNN's AMERICAN MORNING during the month of November to see who will be selected for the eight-week get-fit journey with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The series is going to air every Tuesday beginning in January.
HEMMER: In a moment, 15 minutes before the hour. A major airline on the brink of extension got a new lease on life, and that's good news for the flying public. Andy's back in a moment with news on that.
COLLINS: Plus, how one man put one over on Crate and Barrel -- maybe some girls, too. And he used the store's catalog to places a secret, personal ad. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING. We'll tell you about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: When it comes to dating, Marc Horowitz has no use for the personals. The bachelor's phone has not stopped ringing since he pulled a stunt that was a bit off the hook. Marc managed to sneak his telephone number, his own number, into the Crate and Barrel fall catalog. And it's paid off in spades.
Marc Horowitz, my guest here in New York, to talk about it. Good morning.
MARC HOROWITZ, CRATE & BARREL BACHELOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Paid off in spades?
HOROWITZ: Yeah.
HEMMER: How many people have called you?
HOROWITZ: There's -- well, initially, you know, I had got the first call from Jake in Overland, Kansas. And then, from there, about 100 people called from around the country.
HEMMER: What was your intent?
HOROWITZ: My intent...
HEMMER: To get dates?
HOROWITZ: No, it wasn't to get dates. My intent was to just have a forum for these people who call in to the catalog to go to. They would call in and say, "Hey, is that Lichtenstein book -- does that come with that couch?" You know, "Is that basket really blurry" -- you know if it was out of focus or something like that.
So, the intent was just to give these people a place to go to and to see who would call.
HEMMER: What was the reaction on your answering machine? Are you getting calls all the time?
HOROWITZ: Now I am, yes. I mean, then it was picked up by, you know, an independent Web site. And then, I started getting hundreds of calls.
HEMMER: Hundreds of calls. How do you select which ones, by the way?
HOROWITZ: Well, I just -- I'm choosing the original people that called. And so, I cut it off as soon as that Web site picked it up. So, there were 70 dates to that date.
HEMMER: And you have a truck, right?
HOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: And you're driving around the country, meeting up with these people?
HOROWITZ: That's it.
HEMMER: Where?
HOROWITZ: I'm just making passes. I'm going to go the northern route first and then go all the way -- my furthest north is Portland, Maine. And then, I'm going to come back down and then go across and then back down like this.
HEMMER: Well, listen, Crate and Barrel had a bit of a comment to make about you.
They said, "He's lucky he did it in a catalog for a company with a sense of humor. He ought to buy us all dinner. Since he put his own number in there, he's responsible for his own actions. I don't see how Crate and Barrel can be responsible for a bad date."
Fair assessment.
HOROWITZ: That's fair enough.
HEMMER: Back up just a little bit. How did you get the number in the catalog?
HOROWITZ: So, what I did is I was working as a photographer, and I went to four cities, and my first stop was Chicago. And we were working on the catalog, and there was an opportunity to write something on this dry erase board. They wanted it to look real, so they put "Furniture Delivery 10:30." Then they wanted to put a number down there -- you know, "Call Ted for a doctor's appointment" or something.
So, I said no, no, no. I was doing the dinner tour at that time in those cities, and so I figured it would be a great extension of that. So, I wrote, you know, the number on the dry erase board in hopes that people would start calling.
HEMMER: Good luck to you, all right?
HOROWITZ: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Are you going back to Crate and Barrel?
HOROWITZ: We'll see.
HEMMER: Think they'd have you back?
HOROWITZ: I hope so.
HEMMER: Nice to see you, Marc.
HOROWITZ: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Good luck to you.
HOROWITZ: All right.
HEMMER: Back to you.
COLLINS: Still to come: A struggling airline gets some help to avoid going under -- for now. But how much longer can it survive? Andy Serwer's "minding Your Business" on that, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, the markets are open, so we want to get a check of those. And US Airways gets another life preserver -- at least for now. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" on all of these things. Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: They'd have a reprieve -- good morning, Heidi -- for US Air.
Let's check the markets first -- not a pretty picture: 51 points down on the Dow. Earnings season has begun in earnest, and Merrill Lynch and Johnson & Johnson have reported numbers. No surprises there, those stocks are not really moving much.
Let's talk about US Air. Reached an agreement with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, so they will continue flying through mid-January. That's the good news. What it does mean, though, is that in February, we may be looking at liquidation.
Here are some numbers: $6.5 billion -- that's what the airline industry could lose this year; fuel costs for the airline industry up 135 percent. Now $1.60 a gallon; '99 it was 68 cents a gallon. Can you imagine that? American Airlines and United Airlines saying they'll spend $1 billion each on fuel. Every one penny increase in jet fuel translates to another $180 million of expenses for the airlines.
COLLINS: I don't think people realize, you know, when you park airplanes how much money that costs the airline.
SERWER: Right.
COLLINS: And just in fuel costs alone.
SERWER: When they're sitting there and not being used, it's bad. And then, flying them -- these companies were in such trouble now. But now with the price of oil $10 higher than it was just this spring, it's real trouble.
COLLINS: All right, Andy, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: "Question of the Day," back to Jack on that.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You know, earlier we got a letter from a woman who lives in Gas City, Indiana.
HEMMER: That's correct.
CAFFERTY: That's the best town name ever in all of the...
SERWER: And all of Indiana.
CAFFERTY: Gas city. Wonder what they serve at the diner.
COLLINS: Rolaids.
CAFFERTY: Is the United States safer or more vulnerable as a result of going to war with Iraq -- is the question. The answers are as follows.
Michael in Quincy, Illinois: "We're fighting terrorists in Iraq, not the streets of America. Has everyone forgot those two tall buildings that were full of people and used to stand in New York City? The terrorists are congregating in Iraq, and that's a great place to confront them and serve them up a stern measure of justice."
Ryan in Tampa write: "The answer to your question is yes, we're much safer because Saddam is out of power. The Duelfer Report shows us that Saddam clearly succeeded in buying our allies and nearly achieved his goal of lifting the sanctions. He could have had WMD within a couple of months had this occurred."
Charles in Miami, Florida, writes: "If we had one Osama bin Laden to deal with then, now we have tens of thousands of potential Osama bin Ladens."
HEMMER: Good question. Three weeks away from today. A reminder to our viewers at home, get ready, because Soledad's coming back on Monday. And we're all going to Chicago. AMERICAN MORNING on the road starting Monday in the Windy City. We'll be live in all the major landmarks there in Chicago -- and some great ones, too, all over that town, really. We'll talk with the key artists in that town, the key political leaders.
Also, on the heels of election campaign 2004, what's important in Illinois? We'll check that out all week long next week in Chicago. Back in a moment here after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Later tonight, Aaron Brown comes your way on "NEWSNIGHT" -- 12 hours and counting, as a matter of fact. Quick preview now. Here is Aaron.
AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": Thank you, Bill.
Tonight on the program, Canada's al Qaeda problem, Muslim immigrants intent on waging jihad. How are they nurtured? How are they recruited? And what is the Canadian government doing about it?
We'll have that story, plus all the day's news, "Morning Papers," and, oh, everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT" "NEWSNIGHT." CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill?
HEMMER: Aaron, thanks for that. See you in about 12 hours.
We've got to run. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center. Same time, same place tomorrow.
How are you, Daryn? Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Looking good. You guys have a great day in New York City.
HEMMER: You, the same.
COLLINS: Thanks, Daryn.
KAGAN: We will get started -- sure. From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.
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