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CNN Live At Daybreak

Yasser Arafat's Health; 'Political Hot Topics'; Weekend Movies

Aired November 05, 2004 - 06:28   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."

There are conflicting reports this morning about the condition of Yasser Arafat. U.S. administration officials say he's on life support at that military hospital near Paris. But a Palestinian spokesman denies that, insisting Arafat is in a reversible coma, induced by doctors for a biopsy. Hospital officials will only confirm Arafat is still alive.

Russia has completed ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The required 55 industrialized nations have now endorsed the protocol, and it does take effect next year.

It will be day three of jury deliberations in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial. The judge now says there can be a live audio feed.

Los Angeles International Airport officials are thinking about getting better fences; this, after a man stripped naked, climbed over an 8-foot fence and got into the wheel well of a plane. Authorities say he was suffering from bipolar disorder and was protesting an airline's refusal to sell him a ticket.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Yasser Arafat remains in life support in a Paris hospital, while many factions try to deal with the tremendous power void in the Middle East. If Yasser Arafat dies, both Palestinians and Israelis are preparing for that.

Let's head live to the West Bank city of Ramallah and John Vause.

Hello -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello again, Carol.

It appears that the Palestinian Authority, if nothing else, may, in fact, be playing to time, insisting that Yasser Arafat is still alive, giving them the chance to put in place security arrangements, the transfer of power, and perhaps the most pressing problem of all, where Yasser Arafat will be buried. Under Islamic tradition, if someone dies, they must be buried as soon as possible. Usually it's in a period of within 24 hours. Within the next few hours or so, the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qorei, is expected to travel to Gaza to meet with all of the Palestinian factions down there -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade -- to discuss security arrangements for the coming days. As well, the Israeli military has also reportedly been put on high alert.

But as I said, the most pressing problem is where Yasser Arafat will be buried. In the past, the Palestinian leader has said he wants to be buried in Jerusalem. The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has said that will not happen.

So all of the talk now is in Gaza. The Arafat family has a plot of land down there near Khan Yunis in the central part of the Gaza Strip. But right now, negotiations are under way, we understand, between the Israelis, the Palestinians, as well as the Egyptians. No definite word on just where Yasser Arafat will be buried -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John, money plays a part in this, too. We understand that Yasser Arafat has money outside of the country somewhere. He controls all of that money that's supposedly used for the Palestinian people. What about that?

VAUSE: Yes, Yasser Arafat's bank accounts are a very interesting subject. Depending on who you talk to, he's worth anything from $300 or $400 million to somewhere up to $4 billion. And just where all of that money is, no one really knows.

Yasser Arafat has been the sole man in charge of the finances for most of the life of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. It's stashed away in various places.

And there was, in fact, a report on Al Jazeera a few days ago that there is an argument under way in Paris between Suha Arafat, his wife, and also representatives from the Palestinian Authority, who are insisting that Yasser Arafat's money, which has been stashed away all around the world, be sent back to the Palestinian people. But our reports -- we've been trying to confirm this -- that Suha Arafat is claiming if not all of that money, certainly a good part of it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So who's in control of that money? Just Yasser Arafat? And he's in a coma and, you know, the banks need his signature, it would automatically go to his wife, wouldn't it?

VAUSE: Well, these are all of the questions which need to be resolved in the coming days, I guess. Yasser Arafat, for the most part, has been in control of the money, but there has been a very earnest and honest finance minister who has been in place of the Palestinian Authority books over the last 12 or 18 months. He's done a pretty good job of trying to make the financial affairs of the P.A. as transparent as possible, but still a lot of money stashed around the world. Just where it is, no one really knows, except for the man in the Paris hospital -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John Vause reporting live from Ramallah this morning, thank you.

Yasser Arafat has been in and out of the international spotlight for years. Here's a quick look at this place in history.

He was elected chairman of the PLO Executive Committee in 1969 and became president of the Palestinian Authority in 1996.

In 1974, he addressed the United Nations. He said he had come with a gun in one hand and an olive branch in the other. And he urged the assembly not to let the olive branch fall from his hand.

Arafat was back at the U.N. in 1988. This time, he renounced terrorism and acknowledged Israel's right to exist. He also declared a Palestinian state.

In 1993, he was at the White House with President Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to sign an interim peace accord. The following year, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Rabin and Shimon Perez.

To American politics now and the mandate. President Bush is promising to use his election mandate to push his agenda forward. The president laid out his plans for a second term during his first news conference since being re-elected. They include an overhaul of social security and fighting terrorism.

After winning 51 percent of the popular vote, the president says Americans are on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's like earning capital. You asked do I feel free. Let me put it to you this way. I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: President Bush also talked about God and how his faith would play into policy. It is our "Hot Topic" this morning.

John Mercurio, the online author of CNN's "Daily Grind," is on the line.

Good morning -- John.

JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: You heard the press conference yesterday.

MERCURIO: Yes.

COSTELLO: And you know that evangelical Christians in droves voted for George Bush. Many of his supporters have said he was chosen by God. Hence, the question posed to the president in that press conference. Here's his answer. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I will be your president regardless of your faith. And I don't expect you to agree with me necessarily on religion. As a matter of fact, no president should ever try to impose religion on our society. The great tradition of America is one where people can worship the way they want to worship. And if they choose not to worship, you're just as patriotic as your neighbor. That is an essential part of why we are a great nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But, John, he did not say if his religion will play a part in his policies. Isn't that an important distinction?

MERCURIO: Oh, yes, I think that's a very important distinction. I mean, the president, of course, just won a tough and decisive campaign. We all know that. And he's doing exactly I think what anybody would do in trying to offer these sort of unifying themes for a second term, hoping to build on that unity behind his agenda on social security, tax cuts, war on terror, like you just said, that he's built over the past four years.

But, yes, I don't think anybody would deny, including the president, that he's relied heavily on his Christian faith, you know, in sort of every aspect of his policy-making. And I think he's going to continue to do that in the second term.

I mean, the fact that so many evangelical Christians, as you just said, came out and voted for him this year gives him a new reason to believe, I think, that he's entitled to do that. And I think that's what you'll see.

COSTELLO: You know the strange thing was there were so many articles about how God played such a prominent role in President Bush's life, yet no one figured that it would matter in the election of 2004 so much.

MERCURIO: Well, that's a good point. I think we knew it was important. And I think we knew that Bush, you know, was appealing to Christian conservatives with support for things like these gay marriage amendments all around the country and, of course, the federal amendment, which didn't really go anywhere.

But what I don't think we realized, the media that is, or fully appreciated, was how effective the Bush campaign, led by Karl Rove, would be at reaching out to those evangelical Christians, the four million of them who he says stayed home in 2000, and getting them to the polls.

But, you know what? I have to say, on the other hand, I think there's a danger in reading too much into this notion that moral values played such a prominent role. I talked to some pollsters over the past couple of days. Exit polls in 1996 and 2000, specifically ones done by the "Los Angeles Times," also found that voters picked -- quote -- "moral values" as their sort of top choice. So I think it could be something, you know, that might be overplayed in these days. I agree it's something we missed and didn't appreciate, but I wonder if you did a broader and more comprehensive study if it would turn out to be the case.

COSTELLO: Yes, because oftentimes, you know, when you pose questions to people and they could answer anonymously or not, they choose, like, the most politically-correct answer.

MERCURIO: Exactly, exactly, exactly.

COSTELLO: So who knows how it really will play.

MERCURIO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Some other interesting things that came out of that press conference. The president was asked if any of his cabinet members would be replaced.

MERCURIO: Right.

COSTELLO: What's your guess?

MERCURIO: Oh, yes, absolutely. I don't think anybody denies that there's going to be a pretty big shuffling going on in the campaign. In fact, one administration official that I talked to recently said that the danger is that there's going to be too many who are trying to leave at one time. And Chief of Staff Andy Card has made the point that, you know, there needs to be some sort of stagnation or there needs to be sort of staging of this so it's not done too quickly.

You know, I think whoever he chooses, the president has made a point, specifically in his domestic policy, of making sure that there is sort of loyal support for his priorities, not bringing on high- profile cabinet members who have their own agendas.

COSTELLO: OK. These are the names I've heard. Donald Rumsfeld will probably leave maybe a year into this second term. Colin Powell will stay, I've heard that. And I've heard, of course, that John Ashcroft will leave his post in a couple of weeks.

MERCURIO: Sure. I've heard that. I've actually heard Rumsfeld as a possible -- the possibility that Rumsfeld would actually try to stay, that he sees or he envisions improvements in Iraq coming a year or two years from now. And he wants to be here. He wants to be the defense secretary when Iraq is a success story so that he can sort of return to the idea that he was a successful defense secretary. I think leaving right now for him would be a defeat.

COSTELLO: John Mercurio, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

Still to come, what's really weighing down the airline industry? The connection between fuel prices and passengers. There're more in our business buzz. Plus, an infamous heartbreaker hits again. We'll take a look at the reinvented "Alfie."

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time now for a little business buzz. We all know fuel prices are rising. So why are airlines blaming overweight flyers?

Carrie Lee is here to sort that all out for us.

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this is when business news gets fun.

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control finding that heavier passengers are creating heftier fuel costs for the airlines. Bottom line here: that America's growing waistlines are hurting the airlines' bottom line, because the extra pounds are dragging on planes. And the...

COSTELLO: Oh, Carrie!

LEE: Hey, I'm just reporting the news here.

COSTELLO: It sounds like such a lame excuse.

LEE: It does. It does. But, you know, we all know that fuel costs are one of the airlines' biggest expenses. And even though the Air Transport Association of America hasn't yet validated this data, Carol, you can see the potentials here: a check-in, a weigh-in. People may be having to paying a little bit more because they weigh more than the next passenger. This is speculation at this point.

But, yes, this is what the CDC is finding, that since the 1990s people have gained on average -- let's see here. They've gained on average 10 pounds. And so they're having to spend more money on fuel to keep that weight up.

A little nutty, but, you know, this is a very interesting development.

COSTELLO: It's always great to blame the consumer for rising prices.

LEE: Exactly.

COSTELLO: And now the CDC has helped industries do that. Thank you very much.

LEE: We'll see if the airlines take this and run with it. If they do, we'll follow up for sure. COSTELLO: Thanks, Carrie. Carrie Lee reporting live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Yasser Arafat remains in a coma at a hospital in France, and reports on his condition vary. Bush administration officials tell CNN Arafat is on life support, while arguments continue over where he should be buried. The PLO says the coma is reversible, and Arafat could come out of it.

The wife of vice presidential candidate John Edwards has breast cancer. Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed on Wednesday. She has the most common form of breast cancer, but more tests are being done to determine the best course of treatment.

In money news, GM is recalling nearly 1.5 million vehicles, including 946,000 SUVs with faulty taillights; 204,000 mid-sized GM cars have accelerators that can stick and cause crashes.

In culture, the movie studios go after pirates. They'll file lawsuits against individuals suspected of swapping movies over the Internet. Several hundred movie piracy suits are expected this month.

And in sports, it was Shaq's home debut in a Heat uniform, and Shaquille O'Neal got 17 points and 9 rebounds last night. Teammate Dwyane Wade scored 28 as Miami beat Cleveland 92-86.

And, Chad, as you might expect, they had a record crowd.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, good. Good for them. At least, you know, as it starts out, at least the folks are getting back to those games, even though the prices went up, according to Carrie Lee's story.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Let's head live to New York now, a chilly New York as we just found out, to check in with Bill and Kelly Wallace to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Good morning to you both.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. We made it to Friday, haven't we, huh?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: I think Friday indeed.

HEMMER: Yes. Soledad is out today, but we'll have a lot of news coming up on Arafat and the health crisis there, said to be in a coma. We'll talk to Saeb Erekat this morning, and also talk to the Middle East negotiator about who the successor may or may not be. So we'll get to that today. WALLACE: And, Bill, President Bush called him the architect. What kind of influence will Karl Rove have in the next four years? We talk to the author of the book, "Bush's Brain," Wayne Slater, about the direction of the second term.

HEMMER: Also, this news from yesterday afternoon, Elizabeth Edwards.

WALLACE: Devastating.

HEMMER: What a tough, tough week it must be for her and her family, diagnosed with breast cancer. We'll talk about what she is facing now; also what women should know about their own health. You know, oftentimes when high-profile people take on diseases like these, they can inform and...

WALLACE: People can learn a little bit about...

HEMMER: That's exactly right. So...

WALLACE: ... what to do and what precautions to take.

HEMMER: We'll talk to the pioneer in breast cancer research, Dr. Susan Love, about that, too, today. So it's Friday.

WALLACE: Yes.

HEMMER: Yes. It's almost here, Carol. It's been a long week.

COSTELLO: I know. I'm with you. I'm with you.

WALLACE: Yes.

HEMMER: Have a great weekend, OK?

COSTELLO: Same to you both. We'll see you in 10 minutes.

What's playing this weekend? Well, for starters, the same British accent and the same curly-blond locks just 38 years ago; only this time Jude Law replaced Michael Caine. See if the remake lives up to the original.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, I'm the Dash. The Dash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take that off before somebody sees you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you're packing one just like it. Are you hiding something? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, please, honey, I'm on the phone. Dash!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is yours. It's specially made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not coming, and I'm not packed!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: What mom hasn't felt that way, trying to get something done? But unlike most moms, Helen Parr is really Elastigirl, a suburban superhero mom living undercover with her family after they were all put in a witness protection program.

Are you following that, Chad?

MYERS: I think I've seen some of this.

COSTELLO: It looks really cool. Tom O'Neil from "In-Touch Weekly" joins us from New York with a preview of "The Incredibles." And it truly looks incredible.

TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN-TOUCH WEEKLY": And it is, Carol. This movie is so good. Just start with the premise of it, which is we live in such a lawsuit-crazy world that the superheroes have to go underground. You know, if a superhero tries to save the day, some debris is going to fall on them and they're going to sue somebody. So, this whole family of superheroes has to go underground. And, look, they can't even cope at the dinner table with being superheroes.

COSTELLO: This is from Pixar, and the technology they use is just incredible. They actually, by computer, made an inside of the body, like muscles and bones, so the characters could move more realistically.

O'NEIL: Yes. And this is only the sixth Pixar movie ever made, and it's possibly one of the best. It's hilarious because what it does is it takes this genre of the superheroes, along with the James Bond -- the villain in this case is a kind of a Bond character who lives on an island, you know, who has missiles behind volcanoes, that kind of thing.

And what makes it so wonderful as a family film is that when daddy gets in trouble, it's the whole family that goes to help him.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's sounds terrific. Let's talk about "Alfie." And before we do, let's show a clip of this movie, this remake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDE LAW, ACTOR: I love this city. The most beautiful women reside in Manhattan. Just look around. How could a man ever choose to settle down with just one?

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: I don't know, Tom. You know, I'm a modern woman, and this frankly -- I just don't like the premise of this movie of this man hunting down women and using them.

O'NEIL: Yes. And it's trying to be a romantic comedy that ends up with having no romance to it. This movie is really dangerous, because it says, well, let's update the idea of "Alfie," which was a milestone movie back in 1966. That's when the sexual revolution was dawning.

And they dared to ask the question: What if we invented the ultimate cad who referred to women as "it," and was so ruthless in his pursuit of sex that he would even seduce his best friend's girlfriend while he's sick just because he sees she's vulnerable?

COSTELLO: And by the way, we're looking at Michael Caine in the original "Alfie," just as you're talking about, you know, the movie from the '60s.

O'NEIL: Yes.

COSTELLO: But go on with your thought.

O'NEIL: And -- yes, thanks. I wasn't looking at the monitor there. This movie was so important in its day that it was nominated for five Oscars. And it made Michael Caine a superstar.

Now, this remake, they tone Alfie down, and instead of Alfie, for example, seducing his best friend's girlfriend when she's vulnerable, now he ends up in bed with his best friend's girlfriend because they had too much to drink.

COSTELLO: So it's a copout.

O'NEIL: Copout.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's a shame. So that -- I'll go see "The Incredibles" this weekend then. Tom O'Neil, many thanks to you for joining DAYBREAK...

O'NEIL: Thanks.

COSTELLO: ... this morning, as is usual on Friday.

Your chance -- actually, I think we're going to read some more e- mails.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Because we've been getting in so many we don't have any time. So we'll do something right after this break. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: There is a new study out showing young women are becoming less safe drivers. So we posed a question to you this morning. Who is the better driver, a man or a woman?

And this is from Mike. He says: "Men are more likely to cause a fatal accident. Women are more likely to lose their sideview mirror backing out of a garage."

MYERS: Well, that could be.

And from Ann in Virginia: "Anyway, if the girl has an accident, it's probably the guy's fault anyway, because he was telling her how to drive; thus, the accident occurred when she reached over to slap him."

COSTELLO: All of the women out there are nodding absolutely.

MYERS: There you go.

COSTELLO: This is from Allie from Oklahoma. He says: "Is that a debatable issue? Of course, men are way better than women when it gets to driving cars. Women are good at driving men crazy."

MYERS: I'll let that one go.

"Men have a need to dangerously show off when they're young." Because this was about women that are now 25 and younger, they're becoming now dangerous drivers.

COSTELLO: Less safe drivers.

MYERS: Because men always had that honor.

COSTELLO: That distinction.

MYERS: But men will want to squeal tires, show off, drag race and all, obviously macho problems of the male ego. So...

COSTELLO: I like that one.

MYERS: Thanks.

COSTELLO: And so many said men were better drivers this morning.

MYERS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Quickly to the mug questions.

MYERS: Quickly to the mug. Lisa Drayer, you just heard from her, she said what two fish are good sources of vitamin D? Vitamin D, we don't get enough of that now, I guess. And what was the original -- what year was the original "Alfie" movie released? We just had it on there. And name the actor who played the title role.

COSTELLO: Daybreak@CNN.com. That's Daybreak@CNN.com. And you will win this beautiful DAYBREAK mug. We haven't given one away in a while.

MYERS: We have not. Obviously elections, busy and all, right from wire to wire, so...

COSTELLO: Yes, news always gets in the way, doesn't it?

MYERS: Thank you for your e-break era e-mail answers today. They have been hilarious at times, I will tell you that.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Happy Friday. "AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

MYERS: See you.

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 November 5, 2004 - 06:28   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."

There are conflicting reports this morning about the condition of Yasser Arafat. U.S. administration officials say he's on life support at that military hospital near Paris. But a Palestinian spokesman denies that, insisting Arafat is in a reversible coma, induced by doctors for a biopsy. Hospital officials will only confirm Arafat is still alive.

Russia has completed ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The required 55 industrialized nations have now endorsed the protocol, and it does take effect next year.

It will be day three of jury deliberations in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial. The judge now says there can be a live audio feed.

Los Angeles International Airport officials are thinking about getting better fences; this, after a man stripped naked, climbed over an 8-foot fence and got into the wheel well of a plane. Authorities say he was suffering from bipolar disorder and was protesting an airline's refusal to sell him a ticket.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Yasser Arafat remains in life support in a Paris hospital, while many factions try to deal with the tremendous power void in the Middle East. If Yasser Arafat dies, both Palestinians and Israelis are preparing for that.

Let's head live to the West Bank city of Ramallah and John Vause.

Hello -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello again, Carol.

It appears that the Palestinian Authority, if nothing else, may, in fact, be playing to time, insisting that Yasser Arafat is still alive, giving them the chance to put in place security arrangements, the transfer of power, and perhaps the most pressing problem of all, where Yasser Arafat will be buried. Under Islamic tradition, if someone dies, they must be buried as soon as possible. Usually it's in a period of within 24 hours. Within the next few hours or so, the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qorei, is expected to travel to Gaza to meet with all of the Palestinian factions down there -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade -- to discuss security arrangements for the coming days. As well, the Israeli military has also reportedly been put on high alert.

But as I said, the most pressing problem is where Yasser Arafat will be buried. In the past, the Palestinian leader has said he wants to be buried in Jerusalem. The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has said that will not happen.

So all of the talk now is in Gaza. The Arafat family has a plot of land down there near Khan Yunis in the central part of the Gaza Strip. But right now, negotiations are under way, we understand, between the Israelis, the Palestinians, as well as the Egyptians. No definite word on just where Yasser Arafat will be buried -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John, money plays a part in this, too. We understand that Yasser Arafat has money outside of the country somewhere. He controls all of that money that's supposedly used for the Palestinian people. What about that?

VAUSE: Yes, Yasser Arafat's bank accounts are a very interesting subject. Depending on who you talk to, he's worth anything from $300 or $400 million to somewhere up to $4 billion. And just where all of that money is, no one really knows.

Yasser Arafat has been the sole man in charge of the finances for most of the life of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. It's stashed away in various places.

And there was, in fact, a report on Al Jazeera a few days ago that there is an argument under way in Paris between Suha Arafat, his wife, and also representatives from the Palestinian Authority, who are insisting that Yasser Arafat's money, which has been stashed away all around the world, be sent back to the Palestinian people. But our reports -- we've been trying to confirm this -- that Suha Arafat is claiming if not all of that money, certainly a good part of it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So who's in control of that money? Just Yasser Arafat? And he's in a coma and, you know, the banks need his signature, it would automatically go to his wife, wouldn't it?

VAUSE: Well, these are all of the questions which need to be resolved in the coming days, I guess. Yasser Arafat, for the most part, has been in control of the money, but there has been a very earnest and honest finance minister who has been in place of the Palestinian Authority books over the last 12 or 18 months. He's done a pretty good job of trying to make the financial affairs of the P.A. as transparent as possible, but still a lot of money stashed around the world. Just where it is, no one really knows, except for the man in the Paris hospital -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John Vause reporting live from Ramallah this morning, thank you.

Yasser Arafat has been in and out of the international spotlight for years. Here's a quick look at this place in history.

He was elected chairman of the PLO Executive Committee in 1969 and became president of the Palestinian Authority in 1996.

In 1974, he addressed the United Nations. He said he had come with a gun in one hand and an olive branch in the other. And he urged the assembly not to let the olive branch fall from his hand.

Arafat was back at the U.N. in 1988. This time, he renounced terrorism and acknowledged Israel's right to exist. He also declared a Palestinian state.

In 1993, he was at the White House with President Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to sign an interim peace accord. The following year, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Rabin and Shimon Perez.

To American politics now and the mandate. President Bush is promising to use his election mandate to push his agenda forward. The president laid out his plans for a second term during his first news conference since being re-elected. They include an overhaul of social security and fighting terrorism.

After winning 51 percent of the popular vote, the president says Americans are on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's like earning capital. You asked do I feel free. Let me put it to you this way. I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: President Bush also talked about God and how his faith would play into policy. It is our "Hot Topic" this morning.

John Mercurio, the online author of CNN's "Daily Grind," is on the line.

Good morning -- John.

JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: You heard the press conference yesterday.

MERCURIO: Yes.

COSTELLO: And you know that evangelical Christians in droves voted for George Bush. Many of his supporters have said he was chosen by God. Hence, the question posed to the president in that press conference. Here's his answer. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I will be your president regardless of your faith. And I don't expect you to agree with me necessarily on religion. As a matter of fact, no president should ever try to impose religion on our society. The great tradition of America is one where people can worship the way they want to worship. And if they choose not to worship, you're just as patriotic as your neighbor. That is an essential part of why we are a great nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But, John, he did not say if his religion will play a part in his policies. Isn't that an important distinction?

MERCURIO: Oh, yes, I think that's a very important distinction. I mean, the president, of course, just won a tough and decisive campaign. We all know that. And he's doing exactly I think what anybody would do in trying to offer these sort of unifying themes for a second term, hoping to build on that unity behind his agenda on social security, tax cuts, war on terror, like you just said, that he's built over the past four years.

But, yes, I don't think anybody would deny, including the president, that he's relied heavily on his Christian faith, you know, in sort of every aspect of his policy-making. And I think he's going to continue to do that in the second term.

I mean, the fact that so many evangelical Christians, as you just said, came out and voted for him this year gives him a new reason to believe, I think, that he's entitled to do that. And I think that's what you'll see.

COSTELLO: You know the strange thing was there were so many articles about how God played such a prominent role in President Bush's life, yet no one figured that it would matter in the election of 2004 so much.

MERCURIO: Well, that's a good point. I think we knew it was important. And I think we knew that Bush, you know, was appealing to Christian conservatives with support for things like these gay marriage amendments all around the country and, of course, the federal amendment, which didn't really go anywhere.

But what I don't think we realized, the media that is, or fully appreciated, was how effective the Bush campaign, led by Karl Rove, would be at reaching out to those evangelical Christians, the four million of them who he says stayed home in 2000, and getting them to the polls.

But, you know what? I have to say, on the other hand, I think there's a danger in reading too much into this notion that moral values played such a prominent role. I talked to some pollsters over the past couple of days. Exit polls in 1996 and 2000, specifically ones done by the "Los Angeles Times," also found that voters picked -- quote -- "moral values" as their sort of top choice. So I think it could be something, you know, that might be overplayed in these days. I agree it's something we missed and didn't appreciate, but I wonder if you did a broader and more comprehensive study if it would turn out to be the case.

COSTELLO: Yes, because oftentimes, you know, when you pose questions to people and they could answer anonymously or not, they choose, like, the most politically-correct answer.

MERCURIO: Exactly, exactly, exactly.

COSTELLO: So who knows how it really will play.

MERCURIO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Some other interesting things that came out of that press conference. The president was asked if any of his cabinet members would be replaced.

MERCURIO: Right.

COSTELLO: What's your guess?

MERCURIO: Oh, yes, absolutely. I don't think anybody denies that there's going to be a pretty big shuffling going on in the campaign. In fact, one administration official that I talked to recently said that the danger is that there's going to be too many who are trying to leave at one time. And Chief of Staff Andy Card has made the point that, you know, there needs to be some sort of stagnation or there needs to be sort of staging of this so it's not done too quickly.

You know, I think whoever he chooses, the president has made a point, specifically in his domestic policy, of making sure that there is sort of loyal support for his priorities, not bringing on high- profile cabinet members who have their own agendas.

COSTELLO: OK. These are the names I've heard. Donald Rumsfeld will probably leave maybe a year into this second term. Colin Powell will stay, I've heard that. And I've heard, of course, that John Ashcroft will leave his post in a couple of weeks.

MERCURIO: Sure. I've heard that. I've actually heard Rumsfeld as a possible -- the possibility that Rumsfeld would actually try to stay, that he sees or he envisions improvements in Iraq coming a year or two years from now. And he wants to be here. He wants to be the defense secretary when Iraq is a success story so that he can sort of return to the idea that he was a successful defense secretary. I think leaving right now for him would be a defeat.

COSTELLO: John Mercurio, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

Still to come, what's really weighing down the airline industry? The connection between fuel prices and passengers. There're more in our business buzz. Plus, an infamous heartbreaker hits again. We'll take a look at the reinvented "Alfie."

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time now for a little business buzz. We all know fuel prices are rising. So why are airlines blaming overweight flyers?

Carrie Lee is here to sort that all out for us.

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this is when business news gets fun.

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control finding that heavier passengers are creating heftier fuel costs for the airlines. Bottom line here: that America's growing waistlines are hurting the airlines' bottom line, because the extra pounds are dragging on planes. And the...

COSTELLO: Oh, Carrie!

LEE: Hey, I'm just reporting the news here.

COSTELLO: It sounds like such a lame excuse.

LEE: It does. It does. But, you know, we all know that fuel costs are one of the airlines' biggest expenses. And even though the Air Transport Association of America hasn't yet validated this data, Carol, you can see the potentials here: a check-in, a weigh-in. People may be having to paying a little bit more because they weigh more than the next passenger. This is speculation at this point.

But, yes, this is what the CDC is finding, that since the 1990s people have gained on average -- let's see here. They've gained on average 10 pounds. And so they're having to spend more money on fuel to keep that weight up.

A little nutty, but, you know, this is a very interesting development.

COSTELLO: It's always great to blame the consumer for rising prices.

LEE: Exactly.

COSTELLO: And now the CDC has helped industries do that. Thank you very much.

LEE: We'll see if the airlines take this and run with it. If they do, we'll follow up for sure. COSTELLO: Thanks, Carrie. Carrie Lee reporting live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Yasser Arafat remains in a coma at a hospital in France, and reports on his condition vary. Bush administration officials tell CNN Arafat is on life support, while arguments continue over where he should be buried. The PLO says the coma is reversible, and Arafat could come out of it.

The wife of vice presidential candidate John Edwards has breast cancer. Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed on Wednesday. She has the most common form of breast cancer, but more tests are being done to determine the best course of treatment.

In money news, GM is recalling nearly 1.5 million vehicles, including 946,000 SUVs with faulty taillights; 204,000 mid-sized GM cars have accelerators that can stick and cause crashes.

In culture, the movie studios go after pirates. They'll file lawsuits against individuals suspected of swapping movies over the Internet. Several hundred movie piracy suits are expected this month.

And in sports, it was Shaq's home debut in a Heat uniform, and Shaquille O'Neal got 17 points and 9 rebounds last night. Teammate Dwyane Wade scored 28 as Miami beat Cleveland 92-86.

And, Chad, as you might expect, they had a record crowd.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, good. Good for them. At least, you know, as it starts out, at least the folks are getting back to those games, even though the prices went up, according to Carrie Lee's story.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Let's head live to New York now, a chilly New York as we just found out, to check in with Bill and Kelly Wallace to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Good morning to you both.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. We made it to Friday, haven't we, huh?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: I think Friday indeed.

HEMMER: Yes. Soledad is out today, but we'll have a lot of news coming up on Arafat and the health crisis there, said to be in a coma. We'll talk to Saeb Erekat this morning, and also talk to the Middle East negotiator about who the successor may or may not be. So we'll get to that today. WALLACE: And, Bill, President Bush called him the architect. What kind of influence will Karl Rove have in the next four years? We talk to the author of the book, "Bush's Brain," Wayne Slater, about the direction of the second term.

HEMMER: Also, this news from yesterday afternoon, Elizabeth Edwards.

WALLACE: Devastating.

HEMMER: What a tough, tough week it must be for her and her family, diagnosed with breast cancer. We'll talk about what she is facing now; also what women should know about their own health. You know, oftentimes when high-profile people take on diseases like these, they can inform and...

WALLACE: People can learn a little bit about...

HEMMER: That's exactly right. So...

WALLACE: ... what to do and what precautions to take.

HEMMER: We'll talk to the pioneer in breast cancer research, Dr. Susan Love, about that, too, today. So it's Friday.

WALLACE: Yes.

HEMMER: Yes. It's almost here, Carol. It's been a long week.

COSTELLO: I know. I'm with you. I'm with you.

WALLACE: Yes.

HEMMER: Have a great weekend, OK?

COSTELLO: Same to you both. We'll see you in 10 minutes.

What's playing this weekend? Well, for starters, the same British accent and the same curly-blond locks just 38 years ago; only this time Jude Law replaced Michael Caine. See if the remake lives up to the original.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, I'm the Dash. The Dash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take that off before somebody sees you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you're packing one just like it. Are you hiding something? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, please, honey, I'm on the phone. Dash!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is yours. It's specially made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not coming, and I'm not packed!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: What mom hasn't felt that way, trying to get something done? But unlike most moms, Helen Parr is really Elastigirl, a suburban superhero mom living undercover with her family after they were all put in a witness protection program.

Are you following that, Chad?

MYERS: I think I've seen some of this.

COSTELLO: It looks really cool. Tom O'Neil from "In-Touch Weekly" joins us from New York with a preview of "The Incredibles." And it truly looks incredible.

TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN-TOUCH WEEKLY": And it is, Carol. This movie is so good. Just start with the premise of it, which is we live in such a lawsuit-crazy world that the superheroes have to go underground. You know, if a superhero tries to save the day, some debris is going to fall on them and they're going to sue somebody. So, this whole family of superheroes has to go underground. And, look, they can't even cope at the dinner table with being superheroes.

COSTELLO: This is from Pixar, and the technology they use is just incredible. They actually, by computer, made an inside of the body, like muscles and bones, so the characters could move more realistically.

O'NEIL: Yes. And this is only the sixth Pixar movie ever made, and it's possibly one of the best. It's hilarious because what it does is it takes this genre of the superheroes, along with the James Bond -- the villain in this case is a kind of a Bond character who lives on an island, you know, who has missiles behind volcanoes, that kind of thing.

And what makes it so wonderful as a family film is that when daddy gets in trouble, it's the whole family that goes to help him.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's sounds terrific. Let's talk about "Alfie." And before we do, let's show a clip of this movie, this remake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDE LAW, ACTOR: I love this city. The most beautiful women reside in Manhattan. Just look around. How could a man ever choose to settle down with just one?

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: I don't know, Tom. You know, I'm a modern woman, and this frankly -- I just don't like the premise of this movie of this man hunting down women and using them.

O'NEIL: Yes. And it's trying to be a romantic comedy that ends up with having no romance to it. This movie is really dangerous, because it says, well, let's update the idea of "Alfie," which was a milestone movie back in 1966. That's when the sexual revolution was dawning.

And they dared to ask the question: What if we invented the ultimate cad who referred to women as "it," and was so ruthless in his pursuit of sex that he would even seduce his best friend's girlfriend while he's sick just because he sees she's vulnerable?

COSTELLO: And by the way, we're looking at Michael Caine in the original "Alfie," just as you're talking about, you know, the movie from the '60s.

O'NEIL: Yes.

COSTELLO: But go on with your thought.

O'NEIL: And -- yes, thanks. I wasn't looking at the monitor there. This movie was so important in its day that it was nominated for five Oscars. And it made Michael Caine a superstar.

Now, this remake, they tone Alfie down, and instead of Alfie, for example, seducing his best friend's girlfriend when she's vulnerable, now he ends up in bed with his best friend's girlfriend because they had too much to drink.

COSTELLO: So it's a copout.

O'NEIL: Copout.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's a shame. So that -- I'll go see "The Incredibles" this weekend then. Tom O'Neil, many thanks to you for joining DAYBREAK...

O'NEIL: Thanks.

COSTELLO: ... this morning, as is usual on Friday.

Your chance -- actually, I think we're going to read some more e- mails.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Because we've been getting in so many we don't have any time. So we'll do something right after this break. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: There is a new study out showing young women are becoming less safe drivers. So we posed a question to you this morning. Who is the better driver, a man or a woman?

And this is from Mike. He says: "Men are more likely to cause a fatal accident. Women are more likely to lose their sideview mirror backing out of a garage."

MYERS: Well, that could be.

And from Ann in Virginia: "Anyway, if the girl has an accident, it's probably the guy's fault anyway, because he was telling her how to drive; thus, the accident occurred when she reached over to slap him."

COSTELLO: All of the women out there are nodding absolutely.

MYERS: There you go.

COSTELLO: This is from Allie from Oklahoma. He says: "Is that a debatable issue? Of course, men are way better than women when it gets to driving cars. Women are good at driving men crazy."

MYERS: I'll let that one go.

"Men have a need to dangerously show off when they're young." Because this was about women that are now 25 and younger, they're becoming now dangerous drivers.

COSTELLO: Less safe drivers.

MYERS: Because men always had that honor.

COSTELLO: That distinction.

MYERS: But men will want to squeal tires, show off, drag race and all, obviously macho problems of the male ego. So...

COSTELLO: I like that one.

MYERS: Thanks.

COSTELLO: And so many said men were better drivers this morning.

MYERS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Quickly to the mug questions.

MYERS: Quickly to the mug. Lisa Drayer, you just heard from her, she said what two fish are good sources of vitamin D? Vitamin D, we don't get enough of that now, I guess. And what was the original -- what year was the original "Alfie" movie released? We just had it on there. And name the actor who played the title role.

COSTELLO: Daybreak@CNN.com. That's Daybreak@CNN.com. And you will win this beautiful DAYBREAK mug. We haven't given one away in a while.

MYERS: We have not. Obviously elections, busy and all, right from wire to wire, so...

COSTELLO: Yes, news always gets in the way, doesn't it?

MYERS: Thank you for your e-break era e-mail answers today. They have been hilarious at times, I will tell you that.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Happy Friday. "AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

MYERS: See you.

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